


Apprentice of Death: Book 4

by InkStainedHands1177



Series: Apprentice of Death Books [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon? What Canon?, Dark Wizard Tom, Death Has Come to Hogwarts, Do not come between Nagini and her mice, Dumbledore Brotherly Rivalry, Equal Albus and Harry, Everyone is getting taller except Tom, F/M, Grey Witch Harry, Harry Lies, Harry and Tom have repeated conversations, Harry reacts, He deals with it badly, M/M, Molly vs Sirius in the Great Fued, Necromancer Competition, Non-Human Harry Potter, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Gellert Grindelwald, Possessive Tom Riddle, Ron is tired of this crap, Snape Is So Done, The Triwizard Tournaments are Gellert's playground, Things will be happening differently than the book, Triwizard Tournament, Wealthy Tom, they have a friendship now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 74,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21939034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStainedHands1177/pseuds/InkStainedHands1177
Summary: The Triwizard Tournaments have come to Hogwarts, and with them a certain danger to Harry, but she's used to that by now. What's making her uneasy is being thrust into the spotlight with all her secrets. And who put her's and Tom's names into the blasted cup?!
Relationships: One-sided Tom Riddle/Harry Potter - Relationship, hinted Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, referenced Gellert Grindelwald/Albus Dumbledore - Relationship
Series: Apprentice of Death Books [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546282
Comments: 164
Kudos: 160





	1. A Mark in the Clouds

~three days later~

Harry grinned at the group in front of her. “The three students who performed the best are Sirius Black.” The Slytherins grumbled. “Severus Snape.” Sirius shot him a glare. “And Albus Dumbledore. Two of the top three are Gryffindors, however, I didn’t think that would be fair, so I pooled the grades of all of you. The average of the Slytherins is 98%.” They preened. Harry smirked. “The average of the Gryffindors is 96%. The Slytherins win this match.  _ However _ ,” she raised her voice over the grumbles, “this isn’t going to be the last competition. Starting this year, I will be grading each of you individually for the highest marks. The person who gets the highest of the year will get to keep this.” 

She raised her hand and showed off a small pocket watch. “It will allow you to bypass the soul summoning ceremony and simply say the name of whom you wish to speak to. For up to five hours, you may speak to several different spirits at a time with the re-charge of twelve hours.” 

She grinned at them. “Let the games begin. Go and impress me. I’ll be grading you all on how quickly you learn. No more pairing. From now on, you are learning one on one with me. If you learn and master a skill, then I’ll teach you the next skill. The one who learns the most by the end of this year will get this little prize.” Her eyes glittered. “May the best Necromancer learner win.”

Snape was practically salivating over it. Albus’ eyes were gleaming. So were Aberforth’s. Blaise frowned and then pointed to Black. “What about him?! He’s living with you!”

Smirking, Sirius shrugged. “Guess the watch is mine then.” His smile turned sharp. “What’s the matter? You scared a lion will beat you, snakeling?”

Albus hummed and then smiled at Harriet. He knew he would win. His only true rival would be Severus. The man in question looked at him with a dark smile.

Blaise was worried. He looked at his mother. She nodded slowly and then waited until everyone was gone before approaching Harry. 

“Harry, all these competitions and pushing, is there a reason for it?”

“Yes. You see you and your son aren’t as pressed to learn Necromancy as the others are. Well, Sirius wants to learn it because he thinks it’s cool, but Severus is my guard at school against Grindelwald. Albus wants to learn it for obvious reasons, and Aberforth wants to help his brother.” Harry sighed. “There is a war coming, Blaise, Karina. A war that will sweep the world. If we are to win it, then we must master Death Magic. I can teach you both at a more sedate pace if you want, but the others can’t afford to waste time.” Harry looked at them. Blaise straightened. 

“Tom told me to take care of you. If learning Necromancy means I can do that, then I’ll master it faster than my own housemaster.” 

Karina smiled at Harry darkly. “I must protect myself and my son against Gellert Grindelwald. I will learn as much as I can.”

Nodding, Harry smiled at them and then gave them a hug each. They left soon after.

She sighed and looked over at Sirius. “You’re just about done with Energy Manipulation. All of you are.” He hummed.

“I want to jump straight to Soul Magic.”

“Can’t do that until you understand everything else. It’s the reason that Soul Magic is the hardest to master.” Harry frowned and looked out at the garden. 

“Soul Occlumency, Energy Manipulation…animation is supposed to be next, but I have to head straight for fighting, so I’m going to teach Shadow Manipulation instead.”

Sirius listened carefully and then sighed. “Harry, you take too much onto yourself.”

“Can’t help it. It’s the life I was given.” She gave him a wry smile. “Sorry if the stress is catching.”

He snorted and shook his head. “No biggie. I’ll just go and bug Remus.” He paused and then looked at her again. “And don’t forget, we’re traveling to France to see the wineries that the Potters own. Also, I’m going to show you the estates we, the Blacks own, near the sea. It’s around Dover some, but mostly in Scotland. We also need to get your rings…” He frowned in thought. “It’ll take more than a week to fit all this in.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “What rings?”

Giving her a sharp look, Sirius groaned and shook his head. “Why did I assume you’d know? All families, great or small, wealthy or poor, have a ring worn by the eldest and heir of the estate, even if there isn’t anything to inherit from that estate. It’s just for show and pride of family mostly. Anyway, Dumbledore told me that you are his heir. That makes one ring from the Dumbledore Family. Snape said you’re his heir since he won’t have any kids and wants nothing to do with the Prince Family. That makes two rings. You are the heir of the Peverell Family, a direct descendant. That makes three rings. You are the heir of the Potter Family. That makes four rings. And, you’re also the heir of the Black Family. That makes five rings.” He frowned over at Remus. “Did I miss anything?”

“Not that I can tell.” Remus smiled at a shell shocked Harry.

~weeks pass by~

Albus jerked awake and stared at the ceiling. He rubbed his chest and then dressed quickly. Slipping past Aberforth’s room, he moved outside and apparated to Numengard Tower. When he pushed his way into the cell, he studied Gellert. The man was still strung up. His magical signature was suppressed. Reaching around, Albus felt the mark and brought his fingers back, wet with blood. 

Without a word, he left. 

His dream must have been nothing after all.

~days later~

Harry grinned as her godfather and uncle as they made their way to their tent. The Weasleys were also going to the final cup match. They were somewhere on the inner ring of tents. 

“HARRY!” Turning, Harry grinned and waved at Tom and then rushed over to give him and Ron and Ginny hugs.

She noticed how close Ginny and Tom seemed to be. They were even sharing a tent together so Ron could share with the twins and the parents could be together as well. It was…disconcerting.

_ “ _ Jealous?” She ignored a smug Death standing behind her.

_ ‘Of course not, who Tom wishes to spend time with is none of my concern. I only hope he does me the same courtesy’. _ She sniffed and then noticed how the twins were serving Sirius and Remus hand and foot. She couldn’t help but laugh.

The game was soon to begin the very next morning, so they all pitched their tents and went to sleep early. 

When they got to their box, they saw how high up the Weasleys were and smirked. 

Tom noticed that Draco had somehow managed to sit in Harry’s box. He frowned when he also noticed them sharing her Omnioculars. 

“Jealous?” He turned and glared at Ginny. 

“What?”

“You’re about to bore a hole into Draco’s head.” She smirked at him and then handed him some sweets. He rolled his eyes but accepted them anyway.

“I’m not jealous.”

“Sure.” She smirked and then gasped when Ireland scored.

Tom didn’t much care about Quidditch but had agreed to go since he knew Harry was going. He wanted to see her before school started. 

He kept having nightmares about seeing her die in the forest instead of him saving her life. Seeing her with a torn open throat. Tom clenched his hands into white-knuckled fists. Ginny soothed her own hand over his. He exhaled and nodded.

His fits of anger were getting worse. They would have frightened him, if Ginny didn’t have the same problem. They weren’t getting their missing memories back and all the gaps were still irritating them. Ginny had to do extra tutoring to learn what she missed. Tom hadn’t needed it as much, but he had helped her with her learning so the Weasleys would have to pay a tutor.

Ginny leaned against him and exhaled. “Why don’t you just ask her out?”

“She refuses.”

“Oh?” Straightening, Ginny frowned down at where Harry was sitting, talking animatedly to Draco about something or other. Sirius was busy glaring holes into Lucius Malfoy’s brain. Narcissa, thankfully, wasn’t there. “Why would she reject you? You two are as close as two peas in a pod.”

“I don’t know.” Tom gritted his teeth and growled. “I’ve made it clear that I love her. She deflects all the time and when I did corner her, she said she didn’t love me.”

“Well, maybe she doesn’t…” Ginny frowned slightly in thought. Tom turned and looked at her.

“What do you know?”

“Just that she and my brother have loads of secrets.” Ginny rested her chin on her hand. “Ron always writes when he doesn’t think anyone can see him. I tried to sneak a peek at his letters once, but he caught me. I remember being surprised that he didn’t call Mum or Dad on me.” Ginny glanced over at her brother. “Instead, he looked downright petrified. After that, he started writing in code to Harry. It’s weird. He’s also reading books on how to apparate.” She snorted. “And when Ron reads a book, you  _ know _ something is up.”

“How come I haven’t noticed any of this?” Tom frowned at her. Ginny shrugged. 

“He’s extra careful around you. Like extremely careful. Only mails his letters or writes them when you’re out of the house. It’s strange. If I wasn’t certain that Ron liked Hermione, then I would have said he was dating Harry.” Ginny snorted. “But Ron is besotted with Hermione.”

Tom smirked knowingly. “Even if he doesn’t know it yet.” They snickered together. Ron shot them a suspicious look but then went back to focusing on the game. Regarding him carefully, Tom decided he would watch his roommate a little more closely after this, including in school too. 

Tom had never doubted the close friendship between Ron, Harry, and Hermione. He knew that they had a Lion Loyalty that he would never share in, but Harry was the only one who mattered to him, so that was fine.

He couldn’t care less about Ron or Hermione. As long as they didn’t interfere with his relationship with Harry.

Wrapping his arm around Ginny, he watched the game, murmuring a warmth spell to stop her shivering. She sighed in contentment and whispered a thanks.

“By the way, when are you going to stop mooning around for Dean Thomas and actually ask him out?” Tom smirked at her spluttering.

Finally, Ginny groaned. “This year maybe. I don’t know. He’s like nearly untouchable by me!”

Tom snickered at her misery.

~meanwhile~

A rat scurried around the stands and then faltered when it saw Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. With a squeak, it raced away and then ran smack into nothing. Sniffing, the rat’s eyes widened when it recognized the smell of Crouch. But nothing was there!

With an eep, it realized that Crouch was under an Invisibility Cloak. Why he was here watching Quidditch and not in Azkaban where he should have been (but wasn’t, and his lord had been angered by that), the rat had no idea.

After the game, the rat followed the scent and the shivering House Elf.

~an hour later~

Harry looked up when she heard the sound of screaming. Tom tensed and then rushed to the front flaps. Sirius pulled him back and then drew his own wand. “Probably just partying.” He didn’t sound convinced in his own words.

Those were screams of terror.

And rightly.

Dark cloaked men and women with masks on were chanting and throwing a family of Muggles in the air. They were chanting anti-Statute slogans and Grindelwald’s titles.

Then everything seemed to freeze as someone sent up a spell.

In the dark sky was a mark. The Mark of Grindelwald.

The chanting that had been steadily increasing shut off. And then all was pandemonium. The crowds of fleeing and panicking people surged around her, and before she knew it, Harry was swept into the woods where she was promptly lost. Death was instantly by her side. 

“There are those in cloaks of invisibility around here. Be careful and use your energy sense to see them.”

Harry nodded and exhaled slowly, casting out and sensing different lifeforms. She found several, but all the magical signatures were ones she didn’t know. 

Death moved closer to her and held her shoulders tightly. The temperature went even colder. Harry looked around, green eyes practically luminous in the night. She drew her rosewood wand and then faltered when she realized her holly wand was missing. 

“Mother _ fucker _ . My holly wand’s gone.”

“HARRY?! HARRY WHERE ARE YOU?! HARRY!”

“OVER HERE!” Harry stepped closer to a frantic Tom and Ron. They pulled her into a group hug.

“Where have you been?”

“I moved to go after the twins, but then I got cut off from you and dragged into the woods by the people who were fleeing that way.” Harry looked around and then up at the sky. “I wonder who put that there.”

Ron snorted as they hurried to where his father was waiting. “Those marchers, who else?”

Shaking his head, Tom looked around warily. “Then why would they run when they saw it?”

Ron had no answer, and no chance to answer since the adults found them soon after. Harry gasped. “My wand!”

Of course, that caused a stir.

~hours later~

When the adults finally let Harry go, letting her keep her wand, the Weasleys, Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Tom all went to the Burrow to settle a bit after the fright.

Harry leaned against the farthest wall and watched as Mrs. Weasley fussed over her children, including Tom. 

Her lips stretched into a smile when she saw how uncomfortable he was. She slipped out quietly while everyone was distracted. Looking at the night sky, Harry nodded to Ron’s approach. “Yes?”

“I think Ginny should know.”

“Why?”

“Because I hate lying to her. She’d think it would be cool.”

“I can’t implicate her. Already I’m risking your own freedom. If the Ministry should find out what I am via Grindelwald, then you and Hermione will immediately fall under suspicion. The only fact that Hermione is a Muggle Born and can’t access books like that saves her. You come from a family of Light Wizards. That saves you, but only by so much. I can’t risk anymore. Ginny might crack.”

“And Mione and I wouldn’t?” Ron looked flattered and worried at the same time. Harry shook her head.

“You wouldn’t because you have seen hell and  _ him _ . Hermione wouldn’t because she is just too stubborn to give in.” They both shared a laugh. 

Ron sighed and slumped against her. “What about Tom?”

“What about him?”

“Hermione told me what you had to do last year.” Harry turned away from her friend. Ron exhaled angrily. “You didn’t do anything wrong. He’s the one who’s being an idiot for not trusting you.”

Harry flinched at the reminder. Tom  _ had _ trusted her. But he forgot again thanks to Grindelwald. “He’s…He’s suffered too much already because of me. My connection to him.”

“So? Look, Tom wants power, okay fine, he’s got to realize that power isn’t going to be easy. You’re actually doing him a favor by putting him through the fire.”

Harry barked a laugh. “Nice. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.” She stared at the clouds in the sky. “Like a tarantula in bed.”

“Oh come off of it! You haven’t done-”

“Shh.” Harry turned around and watched as the back door opened. She grinned at Tom and waved him over. “Hi!”

“I worried you had apparated off someplace without saying goodbye.” He sat down on her other side.

Harry snorted. “And when have I ever left you behind?” Her eyes glittered with hidden meaning. Tom nearly got lost in them.

“Several times.” He smirked and wanted to kiss her. Ron cleared his throat and then quickly stood up. 

“Whelp, I’m hungry. Want anything?”

“No.”

Harry smiled at him. “No thanks.” Ron nodded and hurried off. Tom stared at Harry intently. 

She spoke first. “What a day, eh? Yesterday feels so far away.” She looked at her hands. Tom sighed slowly. 

“Harry, one  _ would _ think that  _ I _ would be the one who has trouble with love.”

She scoffed and turned away. “The thing with you, Tom, is that you learn things too quickly. You were born with the need to  _ learn _ how to love. You learned it too fast.” She rolled her eyes.

“And you were born with the desire to be alone, but no one should live like that. I can help you with anything. The two of us together, we can take this world by storm.”

She shook her head slowly. “Tom, I don’t want this world. I only want to live a life of peace.”

“Bullshit.” He snorted and took her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Complete and utter bullshit. You know you want this world. You want power.”

“That's the reason that my boggart-”

“Power shouldn’t always be feared, you know. It  _ can _ be used. Take it and change it to whatever you want it to be.” He smirked. “The world is separated into two things. Those who have power and those who don't, Harry.”

“Funny, I thought it would be those who are alive and those who are dead.” She shrugged slightly. “Oh well.”

Tom gritted his teeth. “You have an unhealthy fixation on death.”

“Maybe you have an unhealthy obsession with avoiding death.” Harry shot him a look. He stood up and started pacing.

“Harry, we’re young and full of power-”

“With the potential to destroy the world. Yeah, I know.” She stood up and brushed herself off. “You swore me off Necromancy, and yet you want me to take the world by storm with you, control it and become a leader in the Wizarding World. Why?” She tilted her head at him. “You need to think this double standard through. Necromancy is not as dangerous as half of the things you have planned for this earth.” Harry looked at the house.

Tom snarled and pulled her around firmly to face him. “Necromancy will  _ kill _ you, Harriet. Taking over the Ministry will make us thrive.”

She stared at him and then stepped closer. “Tom, I do not want that power.”

“Why?!”

“Because I know it will destroy me.” She smiled at him sadly. “I can’t let myself be destroyed.”

He looked stunned as she walked back into the house.


	2. A Q&A to Die For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Slytherins of Harry's class won, and are now enjoying their reward. Also, Tom makes a very important discovery.

Harry had to go to Albus’ place to teach him for the last part of summer. Tom was over at her house all the time now. 

Exhaling, she looked at Severus, Albus, and Aberforth. She had asked the two men to sit in on the first part of the lesson, so she could summarize what she expected of them.

Speaking in the language of Death, she looked at them intently. “ _ You all have learned all of Energy Manipulation, including vaporizing someone, resuscitating someone, and augmenting your strength with stolen energy from a person or the Earth’s core. You have learned how to protect your thoughts, your memories, and your secret name. You have learned and mastered the Language of Death, which enables you to perform the rituals that I taught you, and how to communicate with Hell’s creatures. You also know how to use it to write in code.” _

She sighed and leaned back into her chair. “ _ You  _ still _ need to learn Animation, Shadow Manipulation, and the rest of Soul Magic. I have taught you Soul Occlumency, but like Legilimency being different, so is this. You’ve all learned how to defend yourselves. Now you also need to learn how to attack.” _

Severus’ eyes gleamed. Harry slumped slightly. “ _ However, I can’t teach you that until I know more about it myself. Death is still teaching me. Also, you still need to master the rest of Necromancy before that.” _

“ _ Why _ ?” Aberforth frowned at her. Harry smiled at him thinly.

“ _ Because if I teach you all my secrets, then I won’t be able to stop you if you went haywire and attacked me. I don’t trust anyone.” _ That startled them. Well, Albus didn’t look startled. He rubbed his now brown beard and grunted as he stood up. 

“ _ I understand. What will you be teaching us now?” _

“ _ I’m going to finish off the energy theft section and then jump straight into darkness manipulating.” _

“ _ That’s Shadow Manipulation, right?” _ Aberforth looked up. Harry smiled and nodded.

“ _ Correct. Now, I’m going to focus on training Albus. You two can go.” _

They nodded and left, though Severus looked like he wanted to stay. He obeyed his teacher. 

Harry stood up and then wrapped her shadows around them both and traveled them out to Germany, the center of the Black Forest.

Albus was amazed.

_ “The bonus of having Shadow Manipulation is that you can also travel through those shadows. Wherever there are shadows, you can travel there. There is no loud snap or crack or pop. No one will know where you appear until you show yourself to them. And that is another talent. Invisibility, stronger than any charm you could manage. Better than a cloak.”  _ She lifted her hands and then vanished only to reappear with a wand poking into his side.  _ “Do you see the strategic benefit of having this ability?” _

“ _ Yes. Definitely.”  _ His eyes were filled with eagerness to learn. Harry grinned at him.

_ “However, Grindelwald will also have this ability. Once he knows how much you’ve learned he’ll pull out all the stops, eager to spar with you. You have one advantage. He doesn’t want you dead.” _

Slowly, Albus nodded. The thought had already occurred to him. 

“ _ We are also going to learn how to simply manipulate the shadows. You can turn them into blades, spears, wrap them around a person and make your shadows chains. You can clothe yourself in them as if they’re clothing. You can use them to lift yourself into the air, or as I did the first day, make them into cushions.”  _ Harry made her shadows lift her up and then form into a hammock. She reclined in midair and smirked at Albus.  _ “But first, you need to know how to summon them, which is why I had you learn Energy Manipulation first.” _

The rest of the lessons were hard but he felt triumph as he managed to march through darkness manipulating, shadow traveling, and invisibility all in one night. 

When he returned home, he was sweaty and dirty but very, very happy.

Aberforth looked wary. “How did you do?”

“Well. Very well. Harriet was impressed. I think I’ll get through this section by the end of the week.” Albus flashed his brother a smug grin before shadow traveling upstairs and into his shower. He knew his brother was gritting his teeth and buckling down to study.

~that night~

Harry appeared in Severus’ home and extended her hand. “You don’t yet know how to travel. So take my hand. We’re going to the Zabinis.”

Eagerly, the man grabbed her hand and closed his eyes automatically. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. When they appeared on the other side, he exhaled.

Smirking, Harry nodded. “Necromancy is dark, but not evil. Like I said in the very first lesson we had, magic is neutral until a person uses it for evil.” She looked at Karina and Blaise. “All ready?”

They grinned and nodded. Blaise was bouncing almost.

Waving her hand, she opened the veil and pulled the curtain aside. “The tour first.” She stepped through and then waited until they joined her. “You have fifteen to twenty minutes to live while in this realm. Currently, you are ‘dying’, but you aren’t dead.” She moved off. “Follow me closely and stay on the path. Do not converse with ghosts, spirits, and do not listen to any voices trying to tempt you away from me.” They nodded. Karina grabbed her son’s shoulders tightly. Severus stepped closer to Harry.

“Apprentice!” Grell popped up from nowhere and then blinked at Snape. He grinned toothily. “Mortals and Necromancer acolytes! Oh, I thought I’d never see the day.” Sidling up against Snape, he played with the professor’s robes slightly. “Aren’t you the hottest thing since the chainsaw!”

Harry didn’t bother covering her smirk at Snape’s obvious discomfort. “Grell, aren’t you currently hot and bothered over Than?”

The reaper pouted. “He won’t even look in my direction. I want to kill myself!” The Reaper sighed in an overdramatic fashion.

“Well go hang yourself someplace else. I’m busy.” She rolled her eyes.

Placing a fast and dirty kiss on Snape’s lips, Grell beamed and then vanished. Harry snickered at the look of shock. “That was the reaper named Grell. All the reapers become reapers, collectors of souls, because they commit suicide. As punishment, they are forced to confront death for centuries until they finish paying their toll. After that, they are released to go to the fields or isles. Due to some confusion and translation errors, they have been mixed up with the Japanese Shinigami, but they are not the same. The Japanese Shinigami do not report to Death; they live in another plane and have their own laws and generally stay in Japan.” Harry shrugged. “True, there have been some boundary issues between our reapers and them, but mostly it works out smoothly.”

She waved her hand over to the fields. “Anyway, the grey over there is Asphodel. It’s a place of souls who wish to forget their lives. The fields of punishment,” she pointed to the fiery pits and soot and screaming, “are for people who think it’s cute playing gods and taking lives without thought or care. Rapists, murderers, corrupt dictators, etc. All who kill and cause agony and death without remorse.” She quickly led them to the courts. “Trials of the Spirits.”

Karina gasped with no breath in her lungs as she stared at the ancient ghosts. “Those are the judges?”

“Yes. And those are the recently deceased.” Harry pointed to the extremely long line. She grinned and then waved them closer. They silently listened to the sobbing woman, explaining how she really was a good person.

Harry snorted. “Good person my arse. She killed her first two husbands and sold off her infant daughter for drugs. Come on.” She guided the three Slytherins towards the house she grew up. “This is where I went to escape mortals and the living.” She smiled and showed them inside. “And this is Death. Thanatos.”

The blond being stood up from his seat beside the white fire and nodded to them. He studied Blaise. “You sensed me. I still don’t know how, but I suspect that you may have some relation to…my master…where is your father?”

Karina cleared her throat. “Please. Don’t.” Her eyes were wide. “Please.”

Thanatos studied her and then exhaled. “He deserves to know.”

“And I will tell him, but not now. Not while there is still a ban. My blood protects him, nullifying the scent. Please.”

“True. Very well.” He waved his hand and then smiled at the rest. “Now, let’s get collecting.” He pointed the to opened curtain behind them. They stepped through and onto an alley in New York. 

Severus and Karina slumped to the ground, but Blaise and Harry remained unaffected. Blaise looked at his mother, but she refused to look at him.  Harry glanced at Death and wondered what it was all about. He shook his head. She exhaled. Another issue that he didn’t want to share with her until she was older.  _ As long as it has nothing to do with me and my future, then I honestly couldn’t care less. _ She took a step back and let Death guide her students to the house that he was collecting in. The soul belonged to a teenage girl who was dying of cancer. Biting her lip, Harry looked down at her hands.

Severus, Karina, and Blaise watched in fascination as Death cut open her chest and pulled out her soul. He opened the veil again and threw it through the opening. He then turned to Harry. She sighed and stepped forward and through the bedroom doorway. Covering herself in shadows, she reached into the souls of the mourning family and gave them a sense of hope, of determination to keep going and not give up. 

Their crying lessened and then the mother pulled her husband into a tight hug. That done, she turned back to Death and nodded.

Thanatos took the three Slytherins on five other collections before Harry moved them all to the nearest cemetery in Manhattan. 

Sitting down on a tombstone, Thanatos exhaled. “I still have several other collections, but I can spare an hour. Now, ask me your questions.” He smiled at them.  Harry leaned against a tree and watched quietly.

Many of Blaise and Karina’s questions were about Thanatos himself, asking how he became Death, how old he was, why did he teach Merlin Necromancy, was he a god, and how does he feel about the Ministry lying about his magic.

“I and my brother, Hypnos, were born into this world through Nyx and Erebus. That is Night and Shadow, two beings of darkness but not chaos. Don’t get them confused with other beings.” He snorted and then rubbed his chin. “When I grew older, I was given these tasks of overseeing the collection of the dead and the control of all hellish beasts, because, frankly, Hades didn’t have time to do all of it.” He glanced at Harry and then back at Karina. “I honestly don’t know how old I am. Apologies. As for teaching Merlin, I was jealous of others showing off their magic. Hecate was infuriating, because she was the first to show off her abilities to the mortals. I wanted to be known. It was vain of me, but that’s that.” 

Harry snorted and leaned forward. “Death is called many names, but Humble is not one of them.”

“Nor a name any would call you, Harriet the Haughty.” He arched an eyebrow at her. She smirked back. Turning back to Blaise, he continued to answer the questions. “I am a deity, yes, born of two other deities. And as for the Ministry corrupting and lying about my magic…” He smiled darkly. “Their time will come, and though I am not usually bloodthirsty, I will enjoy ripping out their souls.” He looked at Snape. “You’ve been silent for some time.”

“Why did you choose Harriet?”

“She is related to the only mortal who claimed the title of friend to me. Ignotus Peverell. On the Potter side. Her magic and situation caught my attention when I claimed her parents’ souls. I decided to train her when she turned three.” He smiled at the girl. “And I do not regret my decision in the least.”

Harry flushed and looked down.

Swallowing, Severus spoke up softly, “The dead stay dead, but would it be possible for the dead to interact with the dead?”

“All the time. The Isles of Blest and the Isles of Heroes are constantly filled with celebration. The Halls of Harmony too are soothing and filled with joy and peace.” He looked at Snape closely and then smiled. “She is in the Isles of Heroes, along with James Potter. She is happy.”

Severus nodded slowly and then gripped his hands tightly. “Thank you.”

“Are you the god of all types of death? Violent and peaceful?” Karina looked at him with wide eyes.

“Yes. Myths have me originally as a graceless and vengeful monster, but I’m not. Nor am I  _ sweet _ and  _ gentle _ like Eros of Love.” He sneered slightly at that. Waving his hand, he looked at Karina intently. “All death falls under my domain. If the life is over, then it is within my territory. No escape.”

“What about King Sisy-”

“Ahem!” Harry jumped up and clapped her hands. “Now, questions are over about  _ Death _ . Ask about history or other deities.”

“It’s alright, Harriet.” Thanatos snorted and looked at Severus. “King Sisyphus is a scoundrel and a cunning snake. Worthy of the House of Slytherin honestly. He did tie me up in chains first, and then he escaped through lack of proper burial unbefitting for a king. In the end, he was dragged kicking and screaming to the pits, and I take great pleasure in watching him push that rock up the mountain.” 

He smiled slightly, grimly. “You see, what the legends do not include is that the mortal king did not just tie me up. He also…” Thanatos exhaled and stood up, untying his black robes and showing his flawless body from the hips up. “Sisyphus enjoyed, like most Greeks at the time, both genders.” He re-tied his robes. “That week under his control was my own personal hell.”

A muscle bunched in Harry’s jaw. She knew about this, but she still hated it.

Karina bit her lip and then hesitantly spoke up. “Nearly all depictions show you as having wings. Do you?”

“Like most deities, I can shift forms. I can appear as a young boy, and old man, a skeleton in a hood, a broad-shouldered youth with wings, a little girl with wings, anything really. I did go through a phase where I enjoyed flying, but I have long since gotten over the thrill of being called ‘Angel of Death’.” He snorted and turned to Severus.

Harry must have dozed slightly because, by the time she woke up, the Q&A was over. Death gently shook her awake and then picked her up. “Harriet, come on and wake now. It’s time to take care of your students.” She stirred and yawned gently. 

“Sorry.” Blinking, she took their hands, nodded to Death, and then carried them back to the Zabinis. Then she took Severus back to his home. 

“Sleep well, Harriet.”

“You as well, Severus.” She yawned again and then hurried home. Sirius was sulking about missing out. He sulked all the way through his lessons, but that didn’t mean he did poorly on anything. 

~the next day~

Tom nodded to Mrs. Weasley and then entered the lawyer’s office. She waited outside.

“Mr. Riddle, I’m glad you could make it. Very glad. Now, according to the reports from the Aurors, you are the sole remaining Riddle on the Muggle side of your family, as well as the sole remaining Gaunt on the Magic side of your family.”

“That is true.” He placed his hands in his lap and looked at the man intently.

Mr. Hackney smiled. “Well, it turns out that there was a test left by Salazar Slytherin himself. Just a moment while I get it.” The man hurried off and then came back with an ancient-looking wooden snake with an incense holder in its open mouth and rubies for eyes. He lit the incense stick and then stepped back. 

Tom heard a hissing noise and frowned, closing his eyes and quickly making out the words.

_ “Do you swear to uphold the family honor, to wed within the blood, to keep to the code of the Pure of Bloods, and to never trust another?” _

Tom scowled and quickly replied.  _ “I will never wed within the blood, I will not reject any who could be of use no matter their purity or magical level, and I will trust only one who holds my heart. And honor is for the dead.” _

There was silence and then laughter. The hissing began again.  _ “Long has it been since I heard such practical cunning. The only thing I wish against is your insistence of trusting others. All will betray. All will lie. All hearts are shattered. None can be trusted, but you will find that out soon enough. You are young yet. You will grow and know my words to be true. But take the fang and prick your finger. Grow my fortunes again.” _ With that, the smoke evaporated, and Tom blinked and shook his head. 

He pricked his finger and watched. The rubies transformed into emeralds. He looked at the lawyer. The man was in awe.

“For centuries those eyes have always stayed red. Now they’ve turned green!” He grinned and shook a dazed Tom’s hand. “Congratulations! You  _ are _ the Heir to Slytherin. Come on.” The lawyer quickly apparated Tom and himself to Gringotts and into a very ancient and very deep vault. He turned the key and then lit the torch. “The key will open the door from the inside too.” With that, he guided Tom inside. The vault was filled with jewels and gold and treasure and clothing and everything that could possibly be of value. It went on for miles!

Tom was in awe. “This is the treasure of Salazar Slytherin?”

“It is indeed. Congratulations. The Gaunts never knew about this. All through the ages, the pureblood descendants thought that the key to the inheritance was keeping the blood pure. They had no idea that the true meaning of cunning was using everything at your disposal to win. That means keeping your wits and not becoming inbred. Slytherin would never have agreed with this pureblood slosh, at least not to the point of his heirs becoming drooling morons.” 

The lawyer snorted and then smiled at a still shocked Tom. “You’re beyond rich, Mr. Riddle. You are wealthier than  _ kings _ . The only person who rivals your wealth would be Miss Potter. She is the sole heir to the Blacks, Potters, and Peverells, who is the sole descendant of Gryffindor. Because of the Blacks’ money, she leads you in wealth. If not for that and her celebrity status, then you two would be equal in influence, affluence, and prestige.”

If that didn’t cement Tom’s resolve at winning Harry’s hand and love, then he didn’t know what would. They were literally King and Queen of the Wizarding World.

“Thank you for showing me this, Mr. Hackney.” They quickly made their way back to the man’s office. Tom signed the proper papers, looked over the Riddle business and land deeds. Apparently, the Riddles were wealthy in renting land and homes to people. They were landlords in the truest form. They also owned a large textile factory. 

The Slytherin Line also owned lands, but they were plantations for potions, medicines, and vineyards.  _ Serpent Wines _ was the most popular and elite wine served in high-end restaurants in magical communities all across the globe. 

Tom stared at the money. He was now worth a half a billion galleons. Harry was worth three-quarters of a billion. 

He had had no idea just how rich she was until now. He swallowed and thanked the man again before standing up and walking slightly unsteadily out. He looked at Mrs. Weasley and swallowed. 

“I’m rich.” He blinked up at her. “I’m really rich, Aunt Molly. I can pay you for-”

“Nonsense, Tom. I don’t want you to think that I’m opening up a boarding house. You are like a son to me. Rich or poor, it makes no difference, and I won’t accept a knut! Come along now. You need to get some food into you.” She clapped her hands briskly and then guided him back to Diagon proper. “Also, since you don’t fit the sizes of any of my other sons, I’ll have to buy you something proper.”

“No, no, I can pay for it myself, Aunt Molly.” Tom stopped still and stared at her. “Other sons?” 

Molly smiled at him. “Did you really think I still viewed you as a guest in my house, Tom Riddle?” She laughed and shook her head. “Silly boy. Come along now. If you want to pay, then go ahead, but I’ll still help you with the fitting. Boys your age are lost in the fashion world. Simply lost.” She clucked slightly and then pushed him gently into the tailor shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!   
> Ink...


	3. Rivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gellert makes his next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Things are starting to take shape. Battles will be fought and ignored by the Ministry very soon! I can't wait! ; D  
> Ink...

~meanwhile~

Harry huffed and looked at Sirius and Remus. “Why am I being taken dress shopping?”

“Because wonderful things are going to happen. Wonderful, wonderful.” Sirius grinned. Remus looked up and swallowed. 

“Oh dear.” The door to the tailor shop opened and in walked Molly Weasley and Tom Riddle.

Harry perked up. “Tom!” She jumped off the stand and raced over to him. 

“Oh honestly, Lady Potter, please come back here!”

Harry flinched in Tom’s embrace and scowled slightly. “Wish they would stop calling me that. I’m nobody’s lady.”

Snorting, Tom shook his head and then looked at Molly Weasley. “Why am I being taken for a fitting in the first place?”

“Because there will be something special taking place this year.” Molly winked at him and then briskly ushered him over to the other waiting tailor.

Tom looked over at Harry. “Why are you suddenly a lady?”

“Sirius took me to the Ministry today, and I got my rings.” She showed him her hands. “The black iron band with the wolf’s head and the ruby in its mouth is the Black Family Ring. It shows that I am the sole heir, or the main one at least to the Black House. The silver ring that looks like a lion holding an emerald in its mouth is the Potter Family Ring. It used to be the crest of the Gryffindor Family, and apparently I'm a direct descendant of them as well!" She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, this ring now shows that I am the leader of the Potter House and the heir of Gryffindor, but since there isn't really a vault for the Gryffindors anymore, it hardly matters. The silver ring with the carved symbol of the line cutting through a circle that’s inside a triangle is the mark for the Peverell Family, and it shows that I am a direct descendant of them too.” 

She lifted her left hand. “And this heavy gold ring has a mold melted onto it that’s the head of a bird that has two ruby eyes, and the body of the ring is etched like wings. It’s a Phoenix, and it is the ring of the Dumbledore Family. I am Albus Dumbledore’s chosen heir since he doesn’t have one. Now that everyone knows my status and family heritage, I am being called ‘Lady’.” She rolled her eyes. “I also am the heir of the Prince family, but I don’t have that ring yet since Snape owns it still. But apparently, it looks like a bronze snake eating its tail.”

Tom looked at her with pride. “Well, if the entire society thinks you’re a lady, then you’ll just have to start acting like one.”

“Like hell, I will.” She sulked.

“That reminds me, Tom, we should drop by the bank and get  _ your _ rings sorted also.” Molly beamed down at him with pride.

“Mine?” Tom goggled at her. The thought hadn’t even occurred to him.

“Tom’s?” Harry looked at Tom in shock. “Eh?”

With a slightly smug and boastful air of a proud mother, Molly started bragging about Tom’s lineage and influence. “Isn’t it wonderful, Sirius Black, that I have a son who is so blessed with his heritage? Imagine, being directly related to the nobler and far more Ancient House of  _ Salazar Slytherin _ !”

Smiling stiffly, Sirius nodded. “Quite. And children who are directly related to  _ two _ Most Ancient and Noble houses are  _ doubly fortunate _ .” In the background, Remus was seen rolling his eyes.

Tom and Harry were flushing with embarrassment. 

“Yes, well, the Slytherin Line is noted at being older than Merlin himself! They existed before Merlin was born! Salazar Slytherin was the more revered and honored of all founders of Hogwarts.” She rested a hand on Tom’s shoulder and smiled.

Harry blinked at Tom in shock as Sirius smiled with gritted teeth. “Yes, but the Houses of  _ Potter _ ,  _ Peverell _ ,  _ Black _ ,  _ Prince _ , and  _ Dumbledore _ are now to be merged under one banner. The Most Ancient, Noble, and Powerful House of Potter. Imagine a single house with that much influence…very esteemed is  _ my _ Harriet.”

Before Molly could open her mouth, Harry jumped off the platform the millisecond she was done. “Well! Not that this isn’t any fun, but I want to look over the ice cream in Fortescue’s. Come on Sirius!” She grinned at the tailor and then tugged gently on Sirius’ sleeve. The man haughtily paid the tailor and then swept out of the shop with all his pureblood training. Remus followed behind, trying not to ruin the image by sniggering too much.

Molly humphed. “Ooh! That odious man! Tom, I warn you, if you marry Harriet Potter, then you’ll be marrying into the Black Family!” She shuddered slightly and then grumbled. “You should probably settle down with a nicer group of in-laws. Like the Greengrasses or- oh I know! The Goldsteins are very nice!”

Blinking widely, Tom couldn’t begin to even think of a response.  _ Is my infatuation and love for Harry that obvious? And where does Aunt Molly get off telling me who I should and shouldn’t marry? Why was she bragging about me? Does she want something from me? If she did, then she would have accepted my money offer. What is going on?! How is this my life?! _

~meanwhile~

Crossing her arms, Harry gave her godfather an unimpressed look. “Sirius, what the hell was that?”

Sniffing, Sirius looked over the potions in the shop. “Molly Weasley is a despicable woman who likes to stick her overly long nose into other people’s business. No Slytherin House will overtake the Blacks or the Potters or the Peverells. I’ll make sure of that. I can’t let you marry that boy, Harry. The Slytherin-Weasley Line will not muddy your line!” He huffed and then looked over another shelf of ingredients before looking over her school supplies list again.

Remus hummed and then changed the subject before a shocked Harry could regroup and verbally attack Sirius. “The dress will be done four days before the train leaves the station. That’s plenty of time for another fitting and any alterations that might be needed. Now, Harry, it’s time you learned something very important.” Remus smiled at her gently. “You need to learn how to dance.”

Stopping what she was doing, she stared at the werewolf. “Bloody hell, Hogwarts is hosting a fucking ball.”

“Great. Now she knows.” Sirius gave Remus a look. “You did that on purpose. Hogwarts was going to give the lessons.”

Waving his hand, Remus scoffed. “Harry would have found out eventually anyway. Those lessons weren’t going to be enough, and you know it. She needs a private tutor.” Remus grinned outright. “And I know just the person to train her.” Harry felt rightly nervous when Sirius started grinning as well.

~meanwhile~

Gellert hummed and looked around the Crouch Manor. “Very nice. I especially like the wine.” He gave the beaming Barty a toast with his glass before lounging on the high back chair. “Now, I hear there will be a Tri-Wizard Tournament held in Hogwarts.” He leaned his head back and smiled at the thought. 

He had met Albus during a tournament like this one. It was actually held in Durmstrang at the time, and Albus had been a champion from Hogwarts. Gellert hadn’t been a champion, opting not to join in on the oft fatal festivities. He did, however, seduce the Hogwarts champion. That had been a  _ far _ better use of his time.

Exhaling, he came back to the present and smirked. “Yes, this is too good to pass up.” He played with the glass in his hand, watching the light from the fire in the fireplace reflect off the cut pattern in the cup. “I definitely need a spy in the school, and the only form of power that spy could have would be as a staff member. I think…Mr. Crouch, that you should…replace the new instructor for Defense Against the Dark Arts.” He looked at the rat and grinned. “And you, should replace me. I have several things that need to be done, people to charm, dignitaries to threaten, old fallen followers to call upon, you know the drill. Tedious but necessary. Be that as it may, I can’t allow dear Albus to notice my being missing until I’m ready for him to know.” He sipped his drink and hummed. “Good quality. Very smooth.” 

He looked at Wormtail and snorted. “Don’t look so worried my dear rat. You will not be tortured. Simply left in chains with an annoying cut on your back. You will have my face via the use of an excellent potion called Polyjuice. Both of you will be under its effects.” He nodded at Barty. 

Gellert finished his drink and then stood up and went over to the table and poured himself some more. “I will have two spies in and around Hogwarts.” He looked at the frozen Mr. Crouch Sr and grinned. “None have been able to resist my Imperius Curse, Mr. Crouch. I do you hope will prove to be the same.” There was rage in the old man’s eyes. Barty Jr. grinned maliciously.

“He will be happy to  _ serve _ you, my lord.”

“Yes. I think he will.” Gellert laughed lowly and then turned away. “Now, I need to make sure that Winky will be very happy to provide a new Polyjuice to Pettigrew, or rather  _ Wormtail _ \- seems much more fitting a name- and also provide you your ingredients so you won’t need to steal from Severus Snape.” Gellert hummed in thought and frowned slightly. “Snape…is he still loyal too? I wonder…I had to kill the girl he loved…he must hate me.” Shrugging, he waved that aside. “If he does, then I’ll simply change his soul. He’s too useful to kill. Now, back to my original thought. Mr. Crouch, you will be the new teacher.”

“My lord, I thought that position was filled by Potter’s uncle, Remus Lupin.” Barty looked confused. 

Chuckling, Gellert shook his head. “No. Once the Ministry finds out that he is a werewolf the school board will be forced to refuse him entrance due to the safety for their students. It’s very convenient that the Ministry is backward and slow to progress. The fools. They skulk and hide behind their statutes and laws and sit back on their overly fat arses and simper about how powerful they are compared to others.” 

Gellert sneered. “All magics deserve the freedom to live in a world without bars and chains and secrets. The Muggles and No-Majs will have to learn to accept us. If they do not, then they will be crushed.” He shrugged. “It is natural after all. The strong outlast the weak. Darwin was a Muggle, and he thought it up. If Magics just so happen to be stronger, then why should we pretend to be otherwise? That’s inane.” 

Blinking, Gellert smiled. “My point still stands though. The way will be paved for you to become the new teacher, but not as you are. You are conveniently dead.” Gellert chuckled quietly and then waved his hand. “If I know Albus, which I do, then he will obviously choose someone who can be a bodyguard to his Champion, Harriet Potter.” Gellert moseyed back to his chair and exhaled as he sat down. “Splendid girl. Very powerful. Very talented. I still wish there was a way for her to simply give in. Killing her would prove to be…disappointing in the end.” 

Nodding, Gellert closed his eyes and thought about it. “Albus will choose someone with experience. Someone…he trusts…oh.” Gellert smiled. “That’s what my visions were trying to tell me. It will be the Ex-Auror Moody. Known as Mad Eye by his peers. Paranoid. Will be hard to catch him, but that is what makes it so excellent. Albus won’t ever suspect that his friend was captured. It’s unthinkable.” Gellert smirked at the young man. “Go and make your potion, and then become him. The sooner you start practicing him, the better.” 

Barty beamed, bowed low, and rushed off.

Gellert glanced at his pocket watch and exhaled. “Come,  _ Wormtail _ , time for your own potion and to be chained up.” He smirked. “You should actually be happy. Far away from all the danger an fighting and far, far away from a certain dog still sniffing after you. Hmm?”

The doubtful look on Pettigrew’s face vanished as he realized the man’s point. He smiled tremulously and bowed also. “I am ready to serve you, master.”

“Excellent. I thought you would be.” Gellert gave the still frozen master of the house a mocking wave, finished his drink, and then vanished with the rat.

* * *

Harry apparated directly into the kitchen of the Weasley home, scaring everyone half to death. She looked wildly around for a moment, and then grabbed Tom and apparated out.

When they appeared again, they were at the graveyard of his Muggle family home. Tom blinked and then looked down to double-check all of him was still there. “And why did you snatch me away in the middle of breakfast?”

Waving that question away, Harry spoke to him urgently. “There’s going to be a ball. Sirius only just allowed me out of the house. He knows the moment I see you, I’ll tell you. That’s why Mrs. Weasley and Sirius dragged us to that stupid shop in the first place!” She threw her hands into the air. “I hate dancing, and it’s all I have been doing since the get go. Sirius got it into his head that I should start learning how to become a lady of high breeding or some such nonsense. He wants me to grow into the titles that I now bear on my fingers.” Harry rolled her eyes and then stared at him. “And that’s another thing. I can’t take these off unless I’m showering, or going to sleep. I will have to wear them throughout the day! Like Draco Malfoy does! Honestly!” She stomped her foot.

Tom swallowed slowly and then sat down on a tombstone. “I don’t know how to dance.”

“Posh. It’s easy. Some old relic is teaching me, same one who taught Sirius or something. Anyway, I’ll teach you at school.” She sat down beside him and then looked at the house. “It looks much nicer now that it’s no longer inhabited by bad people.”

He snorted and then dug his the toe of his shoe into the dirt. “Yeah.”

“Tom?”

“I’m fine. Just thinking about my mother. What she saw in him…how could she love him? And did she even? She raped him, you know. She…wasn’t a very good person herself.”

Harry bit her lip and leaned closer to him. “Some people can only be as good as the circumstances they are in, Tom. If they want to grow beyond their surroundings, then they need a special kind of strength. Your grandfather raised Morfin and Merope. I know you’ve done some digging. You’ve told me, and I’ve done some digging too. Marvolo Gaunt wasn’t a very nice man. It’s quite possible that she didn’t know what real love was, either.”

He stared at her intently and then exhaled and nodded. “Right. I can’t judge her when I don’t even know her. How has your summer been? Everything safe?”

“Yes. Boring really. I think this year will be tiresome.” She stretched and yawned. “Besides the ball that’s happening at school, there won’t be anything to do.”

Tom snorted. “Pansy’s out to kill you. Daphne heard from her. She wrote to me. Seems like the girl finally found out about her family going bankrupt and why.” Tom gave her a worried look. “I won’t let her get to you.”

“Tom.” Harry stood up and rested her hands on his shoulders. “You don’t need to do anything. Pansy Parkinson scares me no more than a lizard does. I could quite easily break every bone in her body without my wand or stating a spell. She is weak and stupid. I can handle her.” Harry smirked at him and then dragged him up to stand beside her. “Now let’s get back to your house. School starts tomorrow. We’ll have to catch up on everything on the train. Have you heard about Sirius and Karina Zabini?” Harry smirked at him.

“What?” Tom stood up and brushed himself off.

“They’re dating.” She wrinkled her nose. “Sirius is getting dopy about her. But it’s getting really serious really fast. He was even glancing too long at the rings when he went shopping for accessories with me for my ball gown.” Harry looked worried for a moment and then shrugged it off.

Tom stopped and then snorted. “So Karina Zabini will bag Sirius? Are you still the heir?”

Snorting, Harry nodded. That was the least of her concerns. Leave it to Tom to have it be the biggest of his. “Oh yes. She doesn’t want the Black title and neither does Blaise, but because of Karina and Sirius dating, Blaise drops by all the time now. You’ve always missed each other because he usually comes by at night. Karina and Sirius go on dates all the time.” She shook her head and then grabbed Tom’s hand and took them back to the kitchen. 

They scared the Weasley family a second time. Tom didn’t laugh as Harry did though. He was too busy thinking about Blaise spending time with his Harry. He already knew that the boy had a slight crush on Harry. Spending more time together wasn’t advisable. He would have to deal with this.

~the next day~

Harry waited for her friends on the platform and then grinned widely as she saw a scratched up Ron and Hermione enter through the median. 

Tom had apparated to the station, stating he wasn’t sitting in an enclosed taxi space with that hell beast covered in claws and fur. Nagini was happy with that idea.

They boarded the train and sat with Neville and Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. Tom stayed a bit longer and then hugged Harry goodbye. 

“See you at school.” He nodded to them and then walked out to meet up with his gang.

Harry hummed and then looked up and saw the same boy, Antonin Dolohov, looking at her. He smiled at her and then closed the door to his own compartment. Harry frowned in thought and then was pulled back into the conversation about what was going on.

“It’s a ball. Hogwarts is throwing a ball.”

“A BALL! I’m not wearing those rags! I refuse!”

Harry rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse and pulled out five shrunken packages, piling them up on Ron’s lap. “I knew you wouldn’t the moment Tom wrote to me about them. Honestly, to think that Mrs. M would expect you to wear that atrocity is hilarious. Enjoy, and if you won’t be in my  _ debt _ then simply give them to Tom, and he can have them altered to fit him.” 

“Gee! Thanks, Harry! You’re the best mate I could have! At least you aren’t laughing at me like  _ some _ people are!”

“I am not laughing at you, Ron!” Hermione huffed. “Just at the situation.”

“Sure!”

Snickering, Harry leaned back and started reading her mother’s journal on potions. She had learned quite a lot from them, but she still lacked the flair needed to thrive in the class. Exhaling, Harry shook her head and turned the page.

The party in the compartment slowly split apart as the twins went off to their friends, and Ron and Neville and his other two roommate friends started talking about Quidditch and the match.

Harry stood up and looked outside for the snack cart lady.

“YOU!”

Harry didn’t have much of a chance before she suddenly felt someone’s fingernails clawing at her face. There was chaos and screaming. Hermione was shouting, and Ron was firing spells and hexes. One clipped Harry in the shoulder as Pansy, her attacker, lifted her up and threw her into the door of the compartment down from Harry’s. 

Struggling for control, Harry grabbed the wrists and tightened her hands on the bones of Pansy. The enraged girl faltered and then screamed in pain as her wrists snapped. Harry pushed her down and forced her to kneel onto the ground in the aisle. She felt blood trickling down her face from where Pansy cut her. 

“DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU! I’LL KILL YOU, HARRIET POTTER!” The furious Slytherin was still struggling.

Harry stared at the crying and shivering girl, no sign of remorse on her face. Only disgust. 

“Harry!”

“Hello Tom.” She didn’t look at him. “I told you I could handle her.”

Millicent Bulstrode rushed up to her friend and gasped. “You broke her wrists, you bitch!”

Giving her a look, Harry smiled slowly and darkly. “She attacked me with her bare hands, Millicent. She dared to fight me like a Muggle.” She pulled out her Holly wand and silently healed the girl’s bones. “There. No harm no foul. Now if everyone would please stop crowding around and let the prefects through, that would be grand.” She smiled thinly as the crowd parted.

“What’s going on here?!”

All the prefects of all the houses were standing there in a huff. Harry spoke up first. “Pansy doesn’t like me, tried to bully my friends and myself, and tried to get an innocent magical creature killed. I responded by buying out her family business and bankrupting her future.” Harry’s eyes were like Killing Curse green right then. “She clearly couldn’t handle the change in her status. Going from rich to dirt poor in a blink must have rendered her unstable and murderous. She was trying to rip my eyes out with her fingernails. I dislocated her wrists, not as hard as one would think. Wrists are actually very fragile. Due to my rather infamous life, my godfather had me learn how to defend myself through more Muggle ways just in case I am somehow without my wand.” 

She leaned back and against Tom, crossing her arms. “Will that be all?”

“Yes, that will be all. Break it up, you guys! Break it up! Better get yourself cleaned up, Miss Potter.” The crowd dispersed grudgingly and left them alone. Finally, it was only Pansy, Tom, and Harry, and Harry’s friends, and the prefects.

“Thank you, I will.” Harry looked at Pansy and felt only a flicker of regret, then it was gone. The girl was truly horrible to her. “It’s not the end of the world, you know. I grew up poor and starving.”

“What would you know about poverty?!” There was hate in Pansy’s eyes. Harry’s lips thinned.

“When we get to Hogwarts, I will show you the scars on my back from my blood aunt and uncle. My uncle seemed to think I was an ashtray and extinguished his cigars on my skin.” Pansy stepped back in shock. The prefects looked uneasy, not knowing if they should report this to the professors. 

Harry waved her hand. “Dumbledore knew about it. Due to my life being in constant danger from Grindelwald’s followers, I had to live in a house belonging to my blood relatives. The blood oath protection ward is the most powerful there is, and I could not die before my time. So we were all forced to make me stay with the Dursleys until I was able to defend myself against Grindelwald. The moment I was, I left and have never gone back.” Tom stepped up beside her, wrapping an arm around her. 

“You don’t have to tell them anything more.”

“I know.” She looked at the prefects intently. “I wonder how much Skeeter would pay you for this information. Harriet Potter, The Girl Who Lived Through Abuse. Pretty penny.” She looked at Pansy. “Excellent way to get revenge.”

“Why are you doing this?” Her voice was harsh, as was her breathing.

Harry smiled at her darkly. “Because I don’t care.” She smiled more friendly like to the prefects before going back into her compartment, giving Tom a hug and then closing the door behind her gobsmacked friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It came to my attention that the upload for this chapter was glitchy. I don't know how it happened. Maybe it accidentally got highlighted and deleted during some editing, but a part of the ring break down was deleted. I've now put it back. Sorry! It isn't really that big in the story plot, but it's still irritating. Grr.  
> Thanks for your patience!  
> Ink...


	4. No Pain No Gain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death has come to Hogwarts.

By the time the train arrived at the station of Hogsmeade, the rain was coming in sheets and the wind had picked up exponentially. Pansy was escorted off the train by the two prefects of her house. Harry didn’t care. 

Pulling up a dry charm, she walked off the train and headed towards the carriages, stopping in surprise when she realized that they were being pulled by skeletal horses that she had never seen before.

_ ‘Death, what are these beings?’ _

_ “ _ They are thestrals. Beasts that can only be seen by those who have seen death.” Death stepped closer to her and then smiled when the horses acted up upon his appearance. “They like the scents belonging to the Apprentice and the Master of Death. Any who bear the smell and mark of Death, they follow without urging. Necromancers, Apprentices, and Masters. The Ministry actually used them to hunt Necromancers down once upon a time. The practice has been stopped because the Ministry thinks there are no more Necromancers in the world. The fools.” He sneered and then looked at her. Harry smiled at him and then surreptitiously rubbed the nose of one thestral.

When the rest of her group caught up to her, she stopped and then turned to look at Tom. But he wasn’t looking at her. “What are those horses?”

“What horses?” Draco frowned at Tom. 

Blaise nodded to Tom. “I don’t like them. They look…” He was cut off when the horse beside Harry cantered over to him, moving the carriage as well. He blinked in shock. Harry laughed. 

“They like me too. They’re called thestrals. They can only be seen by those who have seen death.” Her eyes were sad, but her smile was wide. “Cute aren’t they?”

Blaise grimaced slightly and then rubbed the noses of them. “Yeah. Guess so. Wish I couldn’t see them.”

“Do you? I thought you had looked forward to seeing Death.” Harry’s voice was smooth and coy. Blaise blinked and then stared at her in shock.

“Shoot. Guess I saw Death twice over.”

“What are you two blathering about?” Tom glowered at Blaise. The darker boy swallowed in unease. He had only just now gotten back into Tom’s good graces. He didn’t look forward to being out of them so quickly. Blaise decided that he needed to stay away from Harry unless Tom was there. And no inside conversations or jokes. That was for sure.

Harry laughed lightly. “Oh, it’s nothing. I saw your family die, and I saw…” She smiled quietly. “I saw others die too. Anyways, we can see them, but Draco, Ron, Hermione, Daphne, and such can’t because they’re spoiled brats who haven’t felt hardship in their lives.” She smirked at the group. They snorted, understanding her attempt at bringing levity into the situation.

“Right. Spoiled.” Ron rolled his eyes and then climbed into the carriage. They were getting soaked. He could see the thestrals, but he wasn’t telling Tom that. Tom would then ask awkward questions about when Ron had seen someone die. Then his family would be able to counter his lies, therefore prompting Tom to ask Ron why he had been lying in the first place…and it was best if everything were just kept quiet.

The ride to the castle was slightly perilous because the wind threatened to upset the carriages, but Harry was sitting near the window and looking out it. The door once blew open, and she laughed in delight as Ron struggled to close it and not fall out at the same time.

Hermione gave her a look. “You don’t have to be so…”

“So what? Dark? Macabre? Believe me, Hermione, when I say that Ron will live to a ripe old age.” Her eyes flashed. “I will settle for nothing less.” Ron breathed easier and smiled at her. 

“Thanks, Harry.”

Thankfully, Tom and his group weren’t in the carriage with them. Those who were showed confusion, but didn’t ask. 

When they arrived, Harry smiled in relief and neatly dodged Peeves’ attempt at dousing her with a water balloon. Ron was not so lucky. 

Suddenly, Peeves stopped short and stared at the being called Death. “Collector of Souls! Collector of Souls! Ghost Master! Thestral Rider! Dark Mage! Death! Honored we are! Death has come here! DEATH HAS COME TO HOGWARTS!” He was off like a shot, screaming about Death. The ghosts came out, causing the students to jump slightly. 

Ron scowled and looked at Harry nervously. She gave Death an annoyed look for being so out in the open during the first day. Usually, he was more discreet than this. Tom meanwhile, moved over to Harry. “If what Peeves said is true, then you’ll find that this year won’t be half so boring as you thought.” He didn’t look happy. “Why can’t we get a break?”

“Frankly, I’m relieved.” Harry smiled at Tom and gave him a kiss on the cheek to calm him. He stared at her as she walked into the Great Hall.

The students started taking their seats. Hermione had narrowly avoided being run over by McGonagall, who was shouting at Peeves to stop shouting about Death. Instead of being run over, she had gotten nearly strangled. 

Hermione rubbed her throat as she sat down. Harry snorted. “Nearly made Peeves’ prophecy true, Mione.” She stuck her tongue out at Harry in retaliation.

Tom noticed their antics from the Slytherin table and rolled his eyes. 

Grinning, Harry looked over to Nearly Headless Nick. He floated by, looking giddy. “Did you hear? The Apprentice might be in school! Possibly a firstie since we haven’t noticed Death here before.”

Seamus frowned. “Apprentice?”

“Nothing. Nothing.” Nick grinned slightly, strained. “Just realized he or she might not want to be advertised. The Ministry is known for not being supportive of the magic of the dead. Have a nice dinner!” He vanished with a pop. Harry cursed in her head. Now that had just gotten the Gryffindor table talking madly about who it could be and why it wasn’t supported.

She kept quiet, along with Ron and Hermione. They only spoke up when spoken to.

The first years came and the hat sang. They were sorted and then there was a feast. Harry grinned wide and started eating quickly. She listened with half an ear as Nick spoke about the elves. Swallowing, she laughed. “What happened to them?” 

“Peeves threw pots and pans everywhere. The place was swimming in soup.”

“Oh no! Those poor elves. I wonder if Dobby would mind working here. It might give him something to do, plus, it might be good to get him around other Elves.”

“WHAT?!” Hermione was staring at Harry with two splotches of color on her cheeks. She set her fork and knife down and refused to take a bite. Harry sighed, but that only brought attention to herself. “You have a slave in your house, Harriet Potter! Slave labor made this food! Slaves! The Wizard World exists on the backs of slaves! How can you enslave Dobby, Harry?!”

Harry stared at her steadily. “I pay Dobby a galleon a week, Hermione.” There was ice in her voice that shut her friend up. Ron swallowed.

“Besides Hermione, you’ve got to understand the culture of the House Elves. They  _ want _ to work. They are serving and docile by  _ nature _ . They don’t  _ want _ what humans want in life. They aren’t  _ human _ .”  His word fell upon deaf ears as Hermione began to plot and scheme on how to undo the treachery done to the Elves. Harry exhaled again and turned back to her food.

It wasn’t like the Elves hated their lives, and Hogwarts did not treat them poorly like the Malfoys had with Dobby. They were given fresh clean pillowcases and nice rooms to rest in. Shifts too, so they wouldn’t be overworked. Dumbledore didn’t treat them like things. But Harry knew that Hermione wouldn’t listen.  Hermione had a problem with setting her opinions in stone before checking to see if her opinions were accurate. She should do research on why the House Elves acted like they did, not automatically assume that they were slaves and then cherry-pick facts from then on out. Culture was everything.

Looking up, Harry noticed that Snape was in a particularly foul mood. She frowned. ‘ _ What’s up with Snape? I don’t want to read his soul right now.’ _

_ " _ Mad Eye Moody, ex-Auror and good friend of Albus Dumbledore, is the new instructor for the DADA class.”

_ ‘Ooh…right. Makes sense’. _ She looked at Snape intently and then smiled when he looked at her. She poked his mind to let him let her in. He did so with a visible sigh. ‘ _ I’m coming to you tonight to catch you up on Albus’ lessons. Sirius is halfway through the Shadows. Albus is nearly finished. Aberforth is chomping at the bit to show his big brother up. You okay with lessons tonight?’ _

_ ‘Of course. Immediately after dinner?’ _

_ ‘Meet me at your classroom.’ _

He nodded slowly and then turned back to Minerva as she spoke to him about something. Harry went back to her dessert. 

Albus stood up slowly and smiled at them, glamour firmly in place to show off his silver hair and beard. It was a well-kept secret, even from the staff, what he really looked like. Actually, as far as Harry knew, only her students, Remus, Grindelwald, and herself knew about his real looks. 

“So! Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of the objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch’s office, if anybody would like to check it.” 

Harry smirked along with Albus. All the students avoided Filch like the plague.

“As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest of the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.” He paused and then looked at the student body sternly. “It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year.”

All the teams of all the Houses stood up in shock. “WHAT?!” They were too appalled to say anything else. Draco was spluttering about his father hearing about this.

Dumbledore went on. “This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers’ time and energy- but I am sure you will enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-”

Harry jumped when the door slammed open. She wasn’t the only one. However, she did notice that Tom reached for his wand and looked to her quickly before assessing the threat.

It wasn’t much of a threat. Just Mad Eye Moody, late for the feast. Harry relaxed and then frowned suddenly when she couldn’t read the man’s soul.  _ The devil is going on? _ The last time that had happened, Grindelwald had been involved. Her eyes narrowed.  She needed to look into this.

Dumbledore was smiling, however. “May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody.” After the less than stellar greeting, Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke. “As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my greatest pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year.”

“You’re JOKING!” Fred Weasley’s voice echoed in the hall and shattered the tension like a dry twig over one’s knee. Laughter scattered around the hall.

Harry smirked as Dumbledore assured the young man that he was not, in fact, joking.

It was after the attention was away from Dumbledore that she struck out at his soul. He stumbled and fell back into his chair slightly, but no one noticed except Snape and McGonagall. Sweat beaded his face as he struggled to keep up his glamour and keep Harry’s onslaught back. She wasn’t holding back this time, as she had for a while. She wanted to get into his mind, and nothing would stop her.

Dumbledore knew he was losing. In a rarely seen fury, he lashed out, opening himself just enough to lance pain through her soul, activating his shadows and slicing her from shoulder to hip down her back.

Her shock and pain caused her to pull back, giving him time to regroup and leave the halls as quickly as possible. Harry healed herself and stared at the exit he had taken. Her eyes darkened. Snape swallowed as he watched her slip away without a trace.

She was doubling the intensity in her lessons. He didn’t look forward to his own that night.

~five hours later~

Severus shuddered and panted, slumped on all fours on the cold stone floor. Harry stood over him. “Can you do it one more time? Or are you too weak?”

Biting his tongue until he tasted blood, Severus weakly snarled and then lashed at her with his shadows. Thin blades cut into her, only to be blocked at the last moment. No matter how hard or fast he struck, no matter how cunning he acted, Harry seemed to know what- Severus felt like screaming.  In his determination to beat her, he had failed to protect his soul. 

“Finally caught on have you?” Harry gave him a dark grin. “Good boy.”

With a feral snarl, he launched a new attack, sealing his soul from her eyes also. The frown of concentration on her face gave him sadistic hope.

~two hours later~

Harry slumped against the wall and nodded to him. “Good job.” With that, she vanished.

Leaning his head back, Severus wrapped himself in soothing shadow and appeared in Albus’ office. “All the bottles in my chambers and office are broken. Do you have anything for healing?”

Albus looked up and then inhaled sharply. “Merlin’s Beard! She’s not holding back now, is she?”

Shaking his head, Severus grunted as he stepped further into the room. “We getting close to the end in her mind. She’s beginning to see us as more than mere acolytes.” Severus winced as he sat down. “I’m covered in lacerations. Tell me she treated you this roughly.”

“She mainly bullies my soul and mind, which leaves me cold and aching all over for hours after, but no, not like this.” The man frowned and handed him several healing potions. He pulled up his wand and started healing the cuts. “You will be going into the battle itself, behind the enemy lines, if you will. Harry knows this.”

“I know it too, but hell, I wish it was easier.” He groaned as he leaned back into his chair.

Albus snorted. “It never is.” There was something in his eyes that made Severus frown. 

“What?”

“My brother will not react well to her harsh training. He fares better with constructive teaching. Always has.” Albus frowned in thought and then stepped back as he finished with the healing. 

“I trust Harriet to know how to train him. The focus will be mainly on us, you know.” Severus stood up stiffly and then jerked up and pulled up his shields. Albus was not even a millisecond behind him in doing the same thing. 

Harry grinned as she walked in. This time, she was dressed completely in shadow, draping her body with blackness. “Hello.” She glanced at them and then snorted. “Relax. Severus tired me out. I’m not all-powerful. Even I need a break.” She sat down in the chair beside the fire and then looked at Albus. “I’m here to ask you something, Headmaster.”

Albus straightened and looked at her intently. She was here as a student then? “Yes, Harriet?”

“Can you please have the ghosts shut up about this Apprentice business?” She looked exasperated. 

Albus snorted and nodded. “Quite. I’ll see it done very soon. While you are here, I might as well ask you about that altercation you had on the train earlier this evening with Miss Parkinson.” Severus straightened slowly and looked at Harry curiously. He had heard about it too.

Groaning, Harry tiredly recounted everything. “As a Master of Death, I am no longer human. No longer being human means that I have inhuman abilities, such as immortality, added strength, and keener sight and reflexes. Frankly put, I underestimated my abilities.”

“I see.” Albus rubbed his chin in thought. “Thank you for telling me, my dear.”

She smiled and stood up slowly. There was something in her bearing that made Severus speak up. “How long do you sleep?”

“Hardly at all.” She stared at him. “I don’t dare touch any potions that could help me. I’d become addicted to them too easily.” Giving them both a wan smile, she nodded and left the office. Severus quickly went to his own bed too, nodding farewell to Albus as he left.

~the next morning~

Harry looked at her schedule when it was passed out at breakfast. She reached for it and then winced slightly as she stretched one of her cuts that Severus had managed to land. While she had kept her lances light and shallow, he didn’t have the self-control needed to do that and had cut her several times very deeply, but she hadn’t told him so. She was training him to be lethal and didn’t want him to stop just for her sake. 

“Harry-”

“I’m fine, Ron.” She glanced around to check where Tom was. He was talking with Draco about something. Possibly the tournament. That was on everyone’s mind. Harry looked over at Moody and still couldn’t get through the man’s defense. Her wrist didn’t burn like it had with Quirrell, so that was good, but still…

She smiled slightly and wondered what Hagrid had in store for them today. Since he had won in the end with Buckbeak, he had kept up his spirit and had shown them crazy stuff like nifflers, banshees, and huge kelpies. Also adarna, birds that turned people to stone. They had to wear special charms to keep that from happening, but it was still crazy.

When they got to the class, Hagrid was grinning and waiting for them. “Now, I’ve got a choice for yeh all. Would you rather learn about Blast Ended Skrewts or Aralezner?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commenting is food for the poor and the authors of this world. ; D  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Ink...


	5. Strip Shows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry begins to grow up, and she doesn't like it. Puberty hits her harder than it does for most people...

Harry was fast in her decision. “Aralez, please.” Tom nodded and with him his posse, who looked confused but trusting his decision. He was actually trusting Harry’s decision. Hermione and Ron seconded Harry, but for the first time, Hermione didn’t know the answer.

Looking slightly disappointed, Hagrid heaved a sigh and waved them to follow him into the forest. They walked a ways, listening to Hagrid speak. “Aralez, plural is aralezner, are spirits in the forms of winged wolves. They were found by the Armenians and worshipped as gods. These winged wolves have large nests in caves high in mountains, but we have two wounded ones being taken care of until they can return. The storm knocked them off course, and I’m nursin ‘em back to health. Come quiet like now.” 

They looked into the cave quietly and gasped. The two winged wolves were  _ huge _ . Their wings spanned twelve feet from tip to tip. The wolves themselves went up to Hagrid’s chest. 

Softly, Hagrid spoke up again. “According to the stories and the accounts, aralezner have healing properties in their saliva and can revive the near dead and heal mortal wounds. They often appear after a battle, because their magic allows them to sense pain, and they are attracted to it. Strangely enough, their saliva cannot heal each other.” Hagrid inhaled slowly and lifted his hand, motioning them to back away. 

The smaller wolf had stood up and was limping over to them. It moved to Blaise and whined and nudged the boy’s hand. Slowly, Blaise petted it, gaining confidence after nothing bad happened. He grinned and crouched down, but yelped in surprise when the wolf bared its teeth and ripped his robes off. Hagrid moved but stopped in shock. 

The boy’s back was covered in scars. Blaise refused to look at them as the wolf licked his back, covering it in saliva. The scars faded and then there was nothing left but smooth dark tan skin. Harry jumped when she realized the bigger wolf was coming near her. 

“Oh no. You aren’t ripping my robes off. I don’t do strip shows.” She dropped her monster book and started running.

The wolves howled long and then gave chase. Hagrid was shouting at her to just let them, but Harry couldn’t hear. All the students were laughing uproariously as the larger wolf finally tackled Harry to the ground, gently of course, and, almost in a reprimanding way, nipped her and then both of them ripped her robes and covered her body in their saliva. Hagrid gently shooed the wolves away luring them off with sugar cane syrup and mashed sweet potato. 

“Dunno if they usually get this stuff, but they are nuts about it. Found out that they don’t eat meat. Makes sense, considerin they probably could sense the residue pain of the dead animal.” Meanwhile, Hermione had given a nude- save for the rags on her body- Harry her outer robe.

Tom was glowering at the perverted wolves for stripping his Harriet in front of the boys. Harry was beet red. The only thing that saved her was that, since she had run, she had been far enough away that no one had seen anything specific.

Draco stopped snickering when the larger wolf looked at him keenly. “Uh oh. Hagrid, where’s that syrup? HAGRID!” Hagrid was too busy grinning to be of much use. Draco took off running, both wolves giving chase, howling all the while. They came back after a bit, looking proud of themselves. Draco came back, hair a mess and drenched in saliva. 

“I’d rather take the skrewts.” He glowered at the aralezner.

Harry snorted. “Don’t be too sure. They suck blood, fart fire, and have stingers that put wasps to shame.”

Draco paled.

Tom smirked. He was glad that there were no scars on his body. Draco shot Hagrid a look. 

“You owe me a coat.” Blaise snorted and handed Draco a conjured towel instead. Hagrid chuckled.

“I’ll give you a pass so you can get changed. All three of you. Alright, class is over for the day. Let’s get back.”

Tom moved over to Harry. “Do you have um…are you alright?”

“Naked as the day I was born, but I’m fine. Mortified but fine.” She gave him a grin. He snorted, raked a hand through his hair, and smiled back.

“Good.” He looked at Blaise. “How did you get those scars?”

“My mother’s previous husband didn’t like the fact that I would be the one who inherited everything and not him. Mother found out and…she became a widow soon after. Strangely enough.” Blaise looked at the sky innocently. Harry smirked. Tom looked over at Draco.

Draco swallowed. “My father is very strict.” His answer was low, so low that no one besides Tom, Harry, and Blaise could hear him. Harry pursed her lips and then grabbed his hand. 

“You are welcome to come over to my home at any moment, day or night, Draco. Blaise comes over too, because Sirius and his mother are all gooey over each other right now.” Blaise groaned.

“I caught her doodling!  _ Doodling _ ! She’s smitten! Do you realize how awkward it is when your own mother has a crush?!” He shuddered.

Draco blinked, still thinking about Harry’s offer. He looked at Tom. The boy relaxed when he saw Tom nod to him slowly before turning and smiling at what Harry had to say about Sirius’ lovey dovey eyes. 

“I heard Sirius talk to Uncle Remus about your mother’s lips, Blaise. I think I have it worse.” She snorted. “What is it with men and their need to talk to each other about their conquests?”

“Women do it too.” Draco shuddered. “I overheard Mother speaking to her friends about her past dating exploits before marrying Father. I was scarred mentally for life.”

Ron barked a laugh. “Ever walk in on them?” There was a haunted grim look in his eyes that told everyone that he had. Draco gagged. Blaise looked ill.

Harry swallowed and tried not to throw up. “Walking in on Karina and Sirius…”

Rubbing his eyes, Tom tried to erase the image of Arthur and Molly going at it. “I’m going to be sick.”

“I think all of you are so immature!” Hermione huffed and walked faster. Tom rolled his eyes.

“And the Queen has made her proclamation.” The Slytherins laughed.

Harry rolled her eyes at Tom. “Oh you.” She adjusted her borrowed robes and then hurried up after Hermione, wishing she could just travel to her room via shadow instead of walking. 

By the time she arrived at Divs, Harry had missed nearly half of the class. Death appeared beside her suddenly.  _ “ _ Shh. I’m playing hooky from meetings.” He snorted at her thoughts.  _ “ _ Divinations is a load of bullshit. The only seers I know of are dead and gone. The art is lost. _ ” _ He listened to Trelawney and then scoffed loudly.  _ “ _ Crazy old biddy.” 

Harry was too busy giggling at his commentary on her lecture to even listen to said lecture.

When Trelawney asked what month she was born in, Harry blinked. “I was born in July, Professor.” Ron starting coughing in a desperate attempt to hide his laughter.

It was much later, after Pansy got turned into a pug, that Harry and her friends went to lunch. Ron grinned. “Pansy Parkinson, the amazing porky pug.”

Harry burst out laughing. “She’s just bitter now that she’s in the poor house taking hand me downs from your family.” Ron’s face brightened considerably after that. 

“Yeah. That’s right!” He started eating again with gusto.

~the next morning~

Harry noticed Moody coming up to her. She smiled and gave him a look. “Professor, do you by any chance go into darker arts in order to better defend yourself against wizards?”

“Aye. Why do you ask? I’m not allowed to teach you any of that if that’s what you want.”

Harry laughed and waved her hand. “No, no, Professor. I’m just wondering if you knew how to perform deeper versions of Occlumency.”

“Aye. I learned a long time ago that dark wizards and witches who call themselves Necromancers, can peer into your soul. When I learned that, I was quick to protect myself. You can be sure.” He stared at her intently and then smiled gruesomely. “I can teach you if you want.”

“Are there Necromancers still around, Professor?” Her green eyes widened in innocence. The man snorted.

“Always expect the enemy around the corner. It could save your life.” With that, he thumped off.

Harry pursed her lips. She couldn’t disprove the man, not without outright forcing him to cave under her. That would give away her game to an ex-Auror of all fucking people. And if he was trained in this, the who knew what else he was trained in. Exhaling, Harry decided to simply play it by ear.

It was a whole other day before she filed into his class. Harry sat down next to Ron with a passive expression on her face. She watched him talk and listened to him, examining him intently for any slip in his shield. Nothing. He was really good.  _ Trained by the best, and that would be Death, myself, or Grindelwald. According to Death, there are no other practicing Necromancers in the entire world. Either he taught himself or he’s a liar.  _ She didn’t like the odds.

Harry didn’t like how things were turning out in class. First was the Cruciatus Curse, which she had gone through. Then the Imperius Curse. Lastly the…

“Yes, the last and worst. Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse.” 

Harry watched the spider and then stared hard at the man. His eyes were filled with focus and no hesitancy. 

“Avada Kedavra!” Moody’s shout echoed the room. The green light lit up the room. Harry stopped her flinch. 

Tom was staring straight at her.

She didn’t look at him. 

“Not nice. Not pleasant. And there’s no counter-curse. There’s no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and she’s sitting right in front of me.”

She had only witnessed the Killing Curse in action one other time, besides when she had been one year old. But Harry knew how she lived. There was a counter-spell to it. Love. Pure, sacrificial love. The innocent life given in exchange for the victim was the price for her survival. 

Harry’s stomach twisted. She wanted to lash out at the man in front of her and show him pain that no Cruciatus Curse to convey.

Her dark, green eyes flashed up and glowered at him, daring him to do something else. He had humor in his eye as he continued the lecture.

As the class left, Harry gave a soft laugh. She looked at Tom. “You didn’t need this lesson, did you. You learn so much in the library, I feel left behind sometimes.” Her pretty pout was more manic than usual. Tom worried.

They saw Neville but Moody dragged him away. Harry looked at the man as he asked after her. She smiled sweetly. 

“I’m grand, Professor.”

With that, she pranced down the stairs humming an Irish reel.

She had seen Neville’s soul, and she wasn’t going to tell her friends about that. It was Neville’s pain to share or keep to himself. 

Harry and Ron rushed through their Divs homework, making everything up as they went along. Harry smirked. “I will be decapitated because Jupiter’s fifth moon eclipses the seventh moon.”

Hermione walked up. Aaand started blathering about S.P.E.W. Harry closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She was starting to feel worse now. Maybe she was coming down with something? Being a Master or an Apprentice didn’t stop her from getting the flu, annoyingly enough.  _ I’ve been drinking and eating, so it can’t be malnutrition. I know the signs well enough for that.  _ Her smile was bitter.

She felt a wave of dizziness overcome her. Maybe she should just go up to her room for some water and to lie down. Gasping, Harry stood up and then realized that was the worst thing to do. “Oh…” She felt the room spin so fast that it started to blacken. In the background, Hermione and Ron were still arguing about the Elves.

“Her-mi-” She couldn’t speak and fainted. 

“Harry!”

When she woke up, it was morning. Tom was asleep near her and so was Hermione. Ron was just coming in with two trays of food. Madam Pomfrey had two more trays. When they realized that she was awake, Pomfrey set the trays down, drew her wand, and started checking her over.

“Really, why didn’t you tell us that you weren’t sleeping, child?”

“I didn’t think it was such a big deal. I never sleep much, so it didn’t seem like a big change.”

“You’re body is growing older and needs more sleep. You don’t have the energy you did as a little child. You need to sleep more.” Her friends woke up and crowded around her.

Harry frowned at her. “But Madam Pomfrey…” She gave a nervous look at Tom and then swallowed. “I can’t sleep. I never feel tired. Not enough to fall asleep at least.”

Pomfrey gave her a surprised look. “Oh. Oh dear. I will speak to Snape about this. There must be a potion that can simply bring sleepiness.”

Harry smiled at her, knowing there wasn’t. Not one that would work on her. Death had told her so. “Thank you. May I go now?”

“Hm…very well, but you’re coming back here for the night instead of your own dorm. You need to be monitored again with the potion in your system. Off you go now.” 

Tom quickly handed her a fresh school uniform and robe and then she slipped behind the curtain to change. They all left the ward together after eating. Harry was quiet, deep in thought. She didn’t know what was causing her exhaustion and no sleep.

“You’re not human, Harry. You know this. You’re growing up as a Master of Death. The very moment you took that title, you became not human. The very moment you became a Master of Death, you became immortal. Once you took on the mantle of Master of Death, you became a prime candidate of becoming my Apprentice. No human can survive Hell for as long as you have and live. No human can come back from being dead.”

_ ‘So what do you think? Why can’t I sleep?’ _

“Because you’re not human.” Death looked frustrated.  _ “ _ Harry, you cannot sleep, because sleep is a human function. You slept when younger, but now your body is changing. You are blossoming into the being you will always be for the rest of your life.”

_ ‘Any more changes I should be aware of?’ _ Her frown became a scowl. 

Smirking, Death nodded. " You remember how beautiful and starkly pale Morgana was?”

_ ‘Yeah.’ _

“That will be you. You will be slender, pale, and exotic. Also, you will need to use glamour to hide other features.”

_ ‘Like what? Fangs? Pointed ears?’ _

_ “ _ No _.”  _ He sent her a perturbed look.  _ “ _ Just your extreme beauty. You will become like a Greek goddess. There is beauty in death, Harriet. It is a phrase for a reason.”

Harry sighed and rubbed her face tiredly. She stumbled, but Tom caught her quickly. 

A new voice piped up. “Alright there Harry?!

“Yes, Collin. I’m perfectly fine.” Harry leaned against Tom. ‘ _ Why do I feel so tired? How can I combat this? If I cannot sleep anymore…’ _

“Easily. Spending time in the Underworld will increase your stamina. It will be like sleeping to you. It’s going back to your roots, the energy there, the magic, is exactly what you need.”

_ ‘And why didn’t you tell me this before?’ _

The look he leveled her was one of complete unconcern.  _ “ _ I did tell you. You didn’t listen or care to remember.”

_ ‘Screw you too.’ _

He snorted and shook his head. “At least I will be seeing more of you now.” 

She smirked slightly and then forced herself to sit up straighter. Word of her collapse had already spread, and people were thinking that she was not eating, anorexia was becoming a thing in the Muggle World and was spreading to the Wizarding World too.

Harry ignored the rumors like she always did.

As the classes continued, Defense came around again, and they all filed into the class. She took her seat and waited for the next lesson, but he decided to stay on the Unforgivables. 

Namely using them on the students. She exhaled slowly and waited. Death appeared, a grin on his face.  _ “ _ I don’t see why you need to learn these spells now. The only threat you have is other Necromancers, but since you cannot die, the only threat you have-”

_ ‘Is you. I am becoming Morgana. But she was not a Master of Death. She was mortal. Masters of Death cannot have their souls reaped.’ _

“True. She was untouchable to others because she was a Necromancer and my Apprentice. Necromancy gave her extreme power, but it was the status of Apprentice that set her above everyone else. She was a Necromancer, supreme over Magics. She was an Apprentice of Death, supreme over the Dead.” He stared at her sadly. “You are even greater in power than she. You are also a Master of Death, supreme over Death, because of all the masters, I chose to serve you, as is my right with my hallows.”

_ ‘I hate it.’  _ She watched as the students lined up nervously. It was her turn. She stood up slowly and walked towards Moody. Harry stared at the man and then felt a wonderful feeling. She felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in her head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. She stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching her.

When she heard his voice in her head, telling her to jump, she moved to obey but stopped. Why should she? It was honestly a stupid thing to do. The voice got stronger and stronger, but she gritted her teeth and screwed her eyes shut. Her body exploded with pain, mostly in her knees. She must have fallen.

No, she had jumped but halfheartedly, scraping her knees along the edge of the desk and falling to the floor.

Moody was impressed and quickly had her do it again and again until she didn’t hesitate to throw the curse off. She leaned against Ron and Tom as she left the room. Tom wanted to crucio the idiot for putting her through that pain. He had been able to throw off the curse after the second try, only getting better after more tries, like Harry had. His rage at being controlled by Grindelwald was the key to his success.


	6. Arrival of the Schools

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The schools arrive, and Ron starts thinking again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MUST READ:  
> Sooo! In canon, Albus and Gellert meet in Godric's Hollow in the summer of 1899 after Albus graduated Hogwarts and Gellert was expelled from Durmstrang. They were introduced to each other by Gellert's great-Aunt Bathilda Bagshot and had a passionate love affair (according to JKR). That's canon. 
> 
> I am going to break canon (like I have for this entire series) and have Gellert and Albus meet during the classic Triwizard Tournament. Gellert will be expelled months after Albus leaves Durmstrang. So these two will have known each other (and exchanged letters) for far longer than a single summer of passion. 
> 
> It's not that I think it's unrealistic for a whirlwind summer of passion to be able to last a century inside Albus' heart, it's just that I...think it unrealistic. So! I'm going to increase their love affair to being closer to a year instead.

Slumping into her seat in the Great Hall, Harry didn’t care that Tom had guided her and her friends to the Slytherins. Ron looked nervous, but didn’t say anything. The Snake King had allowed them entrance after all.  Grunting, Harry swallowed and then grabbed Draco’s bread roll. “I feel like shit.” Her hands were shaking. Blaise gave her a worried look. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Not sleeping, running out of energy. I’ve written a letter to my mentor.” She gave him a sharp look. “Don’t worry about it.”

Slowly, Blaise nodded and then smiled awkwardly. “Well, I’ve news about our parent guardian situation. Sirius and Mother let it slip that they are coming down for the ball. They’re to be two of the chaperons.”

“Right. They’ll only be able to look at each other.” Harry tore the bread into pieces. She was feeling jittery, weak, and cornered. 

Her eyes bugged out when she saw the shadows around her increasing. ‘ _ Shit! Death, why can’t I control myself?!’ _

This is the change, Harry. Your control is lessening because you aren’t rested enough. Like when you were eleven coming into your power then, you are reaching adulthood and are coming into your second powers. Normally, you would have been able to control yourself easily through this process, but you’re too tired.” He leaned against the wall behind Tom and crossed his arms over his chest.

She started breathing faster and then looked at Blaise, shoved her mind into his and spoke intently. ‘ _ I need to leave now. Distract everyone!’ _

Blaise set Draco’s robes on fire, and  Harry vanished.

She slumped onto the nearest set of furniture there was. It was the sofa chair with the pullout footrest. She looked around the room and exhaled tiredly. Death wasn’t there, which was strange.  Suddenly he appeared with her parents. They hurried to her. “Harry, Death says that you have something important to tell us. What’s this about you living with Sirius? Not that I’m not happy about this, but what about Lily’s sister?” James frowned at her in confusion and worry.

Harry shot Death a look of pure anger. He blinked and then shrugged. “They deserved to know.”

Shakily, she exhaled, feeling strength already seeping into her. Very slowly, the story came out. She glossed over the details, just saying that they were very abusive, and she still had the scars (the ones that the wolves hadn’t touched). Lily’s hands were covering her mouth. James’ face was set in stone. The only motion he had was his fists clenching and unclenching.

“When I became old enough to play things smart and know not to talk to strangers, Dumbledore didn’t argue when I moved in with Sirius. Remus is there two. They’re my bodyguards, and Sirius blood adopted me. So Mom’s wards still work, albeit, they’re weaker than they would be with Aunt Petunia, but I’m not going back there.” 

Standing up, she sighed. “I didn’t tell you that I was moving in with Sirius, because that would have prompted you to ask about Petunia. I didn’t tell you any of that, because you couldn’t have done anything. It would have torn you open, but you wouldn’t have been able to do anything, only offer words. You can’t even hug me. It’s over now. It’s done. I’m not emotionally scarred by it. I still trust most adults not to hurt me. I’m not a victim, so don’t worry.” She urged her parents to understand that it wasn’t their fault, and it hadn’t damaged her irreparably. 

James and Lily remained silent until Lily burst into ghostly tears all the while screaming in rage at her sister. James held her as she reacted violently to the news. “HER OWN KIN! HER OWN FUCKING NIECE! WHY?! WHY IS MY SISTER SO MONSTROUS?! WHY?!” She repeatedly slammed her fist into the sofa cushions she was floating on. James was silently crying all the while holding his wife and staring at his daughter.

Harry exhaled and looked at Death. He raised a finger to his lips. So she waited for the storm to pass, and instead leaned against the sofa and soaked in the energy of the Underworld.

After Lily had calmed down, she had Death promise her that James would get an hour alone Vernon’s ghost before the monster’s judging. She would be alone with Petunia.

Ghosts could  _ touch _ ghosts…to be specific, slap, punch, and rip hair out of…

By the time Harry came back from the Underworld, it was dinner, and she found her friends- the ones in the know- were playing buffer for her with Tom. She sent Blaise a smile as she sat down with Tom, leaning against him, knowing that physical contact would calm him down faster. 

“I went to the library and tried for a nap. Must have worked a little. Sorry to have worried you.” He smiled at her.

“Just as long as you’re alright, Harry.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her close and started piling the food onto her plate. She was sitting with the snakes because she knew that Tom wanted her to stay close to him for a bit more.

The buzz around was that the other schools’ arrival was only a week away. Harry was relieved that Snape wouldn’t be poisoning them after all. She didn’t want to die again.

The days slipped past. The day the schools were arriving was getting closer. Classes continued and Moody kept on being Moody. He and Tom clashed all the time. It seemed that Moody was the only teacher in Tom’s life who wasn’t duped by his fake innocence. Well, the only teacher besides Dumbledore.

On another note though, Harry was finding spellwork to be much harder to perform than just a few weeks ago. ‘ _ Death, what’s going on?!’ _

He appeared beside her, scythe in hand. She had caught him in the middle of a collection. " Hmm, oh! That’s right, this I did forget to tell you about." He ignored her look of irritation extremely well. "You’re a creature of magic now, Harry. Remember, you are not human anymore. You don’t need words. You know how hard it can be taking very tiny steps really fast? You start stumbling around? Tripping over your feet? Losing balance?”

_ ‘Yeah.’ _

" Well, that’s this. Speaking is tiny steps now. You’ll be taught silent spells and then even wandless if you go into that field, but you’re ready for it now. Do as the House Elves do and snap your fingers. The magic will obey you, leap to your command. You don’t need your words anymore. The wands are still important because you still need help channeling the magic from yourself, but the words are no longer necessary. You could say peanut butter, and it would still work as long as you’ve got the intent.”

_ ‘Fascinating.’ _ Harry exhaled and then did as he said, mentally willing the magic to obey her even while simply muttering the spell half-arsed. It worked surprisingly well.  At least McGonagall didn’t give her homework like she did Neville. There was too much homework anyway. 

By the time the day arrived for the schools to come, Harry had experienced all the changes she was going to experience at this time. According to Death. She was able to tell when a person was near death, like a day before they were going to die. That had been a unique change. 

She could see the magical aura around a person. Tom’s was hazy red and greyish black. Draco’s was surprisingly dark blue, almost a light black. Blaise’s was blinding white. Hermione’s was grey and light blue. Ron’s was a faint red. Pitch black was probably Morgana’s, blinding white was Blaise’s. That was the scale. It didn’t show her their emotions, just their magical status, what they were willing to do with their magic. The darker the color the less moral they tended to be.

Another thing Harry had experienced was the sharp transformation of her body. She started her period and seemingly changed overnight. Her breasts were budding, her hips were widening, her hair was growing longer, refusing to be cut, everything was happening at once, but unlike Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati, she didn’t get pimples or zits. Her skin was as pure as the day she was born, and probably just as pale.

She looked like a ghost, a wraith of beauty.  Harry  _ hated _ it.

Harry watched as the carriage drew closer, skimming the tops of the trees in the dark forest.  Peeves floated outside. “The Apprentice is coming! The Apprentice is coming!”  Rolling her eyes, Harry ignored him. Peeves was insistent that none of the puny students at Hogwarts could be Death’s Apprentice, so the Durmstrang ones had to have the Apprentice. The ghosts floated out in flocks, waiting to see for themselves.  Harry sighed and looked at her nails. She had done them on a whim with Grell. He had seen her grow up and squealed in delight, wanting to give her a manicure  _ plus _ hairstyling and makeup lesson. She learned a lot from him.

So now, her fingers were painted black, her eyes were lined with kohl, and her lashes were longer with mascara. She really liked the wings that Grell had painted on the corners of her eyes. The dark streaks make her look more ghostly. She would have kept painted her lips black too, but McGonagall forced her to wipe it off. The older witch had deemed her too occult witchy and not up to the standards held at a school for proper young witches. (Harry had just rolled her eyes, when the woman had turned away, and done as ordered.)

She looked over as the carriage landed. Tom was standing beside her. The fourteen year old boy hadn’t had a growth spurt yet, and he was getting annoyed. It hadn’t bothered him until Harry’s transformation that only took a week to happen. She wasn’t  _ that  _ much taller, but she had grown three inches in only a week. She would grow even taller too, according to Death, not that Tom knew that. 

She was wearing her hair up with the pin that Tom had given her. He smiled as he noticed that. 

The carriage doors opened, and Harry blinked at the large woman. “Damn.” Tom snorted in agreement. Blaise cleared his throat.

“They look cold.” 

They turned as one to look over at the older teens stepping out of the carriage. They were shivering. Harry snorted. “Can afford expensive silk robes like that and didn’t think of wearing a coat?”

Shaking her head, Hermione frowned. “Maybe they weren’t allowed to dress out of uniform?”

“Then it’s child abuse, and I’m glad I’m not in Beauxbaton.” Harry’s voice was dry as the desert wind. Tom cracked up. He gave her a look. 

“You would have shown them up in beauty, lemme tell you.”

She cooed and waved her hand. “Aw, Tom. You say the nicest things.” He chuckled and looked back at the giant of a woman. She was talking to Dumbly-Dorr. He cracked up again.

When the ship shot out of the water, Harry’s eyebrows shot up. She leaned against Tom and shared their body heat. “Holy Hell on a pogo stick. That’s overcompensating.”

Standing behind them, the usually extremely quiet Theo Nott burst out laughing. Even Daphne was giggling slightly at that. Tom smirked. “Shush you, I can’t seem to take you anywhere. You’re so irreverent.”

“Oh forgive me, my lord.” Harry shot him a grin. Tom thrilled at the title from her lips. Her lord.

The Durmstrang students approached. Harry scanned them and focused on the two boys standing close to the man who had to be the Durmstrang Headmaster. 

One was Viktor Krum and the other was a dark-haired boy with dark eyes and tan skin. She looked at his soul intently and then, finding nothing of interest, shrugged mentally and looked away. Orphan, dark wizard, wanting to prove himself worthy and win the money so he could get away from his orphanage. Basic. Boring. He was powerful though. He might just be chosen.  Harry looked over at Ron, who was fangirling over Krum. Then she scanned Krum and sighed. The Hungarian boy hadn’t even had a choice in the matter. The Headmaster of Durmstrang had foisted the decision on him. That’s why he was so surly all the time.

~at that moment~

Grindelwald smiled at the crowd and started walking forward, closer to his target. He did so love a large gathering and good food.

~inside Hogwarts~

They all moved into the castle again, breathing sighs of relief at the warmth.

Harry grinned as Ron seemed to be bouncing around, fangasming about Krum. She snickered into Tom’s shoulder before pulling away and winking at his crew and heading towards her house’s table. 

They settled down and listened to Dumbledore’s speech. 

Looking at Tom, she raised an eyebrow. They wouldn’t get to be in it, because of the age-line, but it would be interesting to see who did join in. 

Dumbledore spoke up after Crouch Sr. whispered to him intently. “Ah, there seems to have been a mix-up in the Ministry when preparing this cup. It is set to give us two names instead of one. There will be two champions working together instead of one. They will both get the prestige and because the issue was entirely on the Ministry’s shoulders, they will fund the extra thousand galleons. May the best two students win the slots.”

The news was taken excellently. 

Hermione was still worried about the fatalities involved in the past and was spouting off facts about it. “The last tournament was held in 1898, hosted by the Durmstrang Institute.” Hermione blinked at the book in her hands. “Bloody hell, Albus Dumbledore was one of the champions! He ended up forfeiting the match for reasons unknown, and Durmstrang won.”

Harry frowned and looked at Albus intently. “How old would he be?”

“He was in his seventh year. Seventeen, I’d imagine.” Hermione closed the book and frowned in thought.

“Grindelwald was in Durmstrang at that time. It was soon after that, he was expelled for human experimentation on unwilling victims.”

“Oh, how awful!” Hermione bit her lip. “Were they alright?”

“No. The Ministry in Germany executed them, put them out of their misery, as they were half-human and half-monster and in pain. Grindelwald was lucky he wasn’t arrested on the spot. The German Ministry of Magic was getting darker at that time, thinking more along the lines of Eugenics. This was why it was so easy for Grindelwald to win them over during World War Two.” Harry toyed with her fork. “I read a biography about him. Several actually. I also spoke to my mentor about him in depth. It’s best to know as much as possible about your enemy.”

She looked up and stared at Dumbledore. The feast was continuing on in full swing. Harry wasn’t hungry. She was too tied up in knots. Standing, she nodded to her friends and left the hall.

Hermione bit her lip and looked at Ron. “She’s not telling us much anymore, is she?”

“No.” Ron sighed. “I think she wants to protect us. Says that it’s only a matter of time before Grindelwald outs her secret to the Ministry. She doesn’t want us in the line of fire. I asked her about telling Ginny, but she said no.” Ron frowned. “She’s a lot like Tom, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Hermione frowned.

“She’s got unwavering control over us. We obey her without thought.” Ron bit off a hunk of his bread angrily. “It’s like being a slave, no better than a House Elf. She tells us only what she wants us to know and nothing else.”

Hermione bit her lip and tried to appease Ron. “Well, Harry does have a lot on her plate.”

“We’re her friends, Mione! She should trust us!” He glowered at her and then gulped down some juice.

“She does, Ron! She tells us things! We’re the only ones, besides her students, that knows anything about anyone!” Hermione clammed up when a Beauxbaton student approached them for some dish or other. 

~meanwhile~

Harry was pacing the seventh floor corridor angrily. She was feeling mad about everything right then. Mad that Tom still cared for her, mad that Death had forced her to tell her parents, mad that she wasn’t human, mad that she was attracting attention because of her beauty, mad that she had to hide her power and keep it from the Ministry. She was furious, and she didn’t know why. She was mad about that too!

McGonagall was walking by, doing her rounds since she had finished her meal sooner than most. “Miss Potter, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t KNOW!” Harry would never have screamed at a teacher like that, but she just couldn’t help it. Her magic flared angrily, lashing out and cracking the stones and walls around her. She sank to her knees and started crying. Her makeup was waterproof, a creation of Grell’s, so she didn’t worry about ruining it.

McGonagall stared at her warily and then moved closer and held her tightly. “Pomfrey said something to me about one of my students starting their period. Was it you?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Her posture was tense.

“Emotions tend to fluctuate at these times, my dear. Fluctuating emotion also brings fluctuating magic. Come. Let me get you some tea. You feel some pain?”

Harry paused and thought about it. She  _ was  _ in pain. It was achy and annoying. “Yeah.”

“Thought so. Come along to my chambers.” Minerva guided the girl to her actual personal rooms and then settled her down with chocolate biscuits and warm tea. 

Harry glanced around at the very practical and utilitarian furnishings before speaking up softly. “My godfather told me about the medical side, and he did say something about mood swings. I didn’t realize how bad it would be.”

“Sometimes they affect women hardly at all, and other women are turned into monsters.” Minerva chuckled. “I remember when I was your age. The pain was excruciating. I couldn’t move except to throw up. No potions would help me. Some girls only have pain on the first day or two. I had the pain, the agony, straight through the five to six days of it.” She sighed.

“Had? You don’t have it anymore?”

“No, my dear. I went through what older women go through. It’s called menopause. It’s when your periods stop, either suddenly or slowly. It marks the time when you are no longer able to have children.” She gently squeezed Harry’s hand. “I was there for your mother. When she first went through her menses. Actually, it was in my class that she had her first one. I saw her look of horror and shame as she looked at her seat. It was in the middle of my lecture. She reminded me of myself actually. So, I told her to stay after class so she wouldn’t have to get up.”  Smiling fondly at the memories, Minerva poured Harry more tea. “She was affected by the mood swings too. Poor Severus. He didn’t know how to react. One day he said a joke that she would normally laugh at, and she bit his head off. The very next week, she complained that he didn’t joke enough anymore. He was so very confused.” Minerva snickered.

Harry grinned into her teacup as the woman started telling her more stories about her mother and Severus and their antics. Professor McGonagall had kept her secret, and had helped Harry's mom... Harry liked the older witch. She was actually really nice, under all that Scottish sternness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment. ; D  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Ink...


	7. Unrest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Champions are chosen, and Tom makes a very bad mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As many asked for, I've inserted a segment with angry Harry and befuddled Tom. Hope I did your requests justice. ; D  
> Ink...

Hermione looked around and frowned. “Harry’s not in the dorm.” 

Shrugging, Ron yawned. “S’what? She’s fine. Probably safer on her own than here with statues to be dropped on her.”

“Ron! You’ve being awfully callous about your own friend!”

Rolling his eyes, Ron sneered. “I’m sure Harry can handle anything thrown at her with her usual flagrant disregard for her own safety. I think she goes out of her way to get in trouble. It’s the only way she can survive the boredom of life. Considering she can’t die, what else is she going to do?”

Hermione blinked. “Flagrant? Disregard? Where’d you learn words like that?”

“Harry and Tom talk like that all the time. Can’t help but learn it from them.” Ron gave her an annoyed look before retiring to his room. Hermione hurried up to her own room, but she still didn’t find Harry there.  After a moment, though, Harry slipped in via the veil. She smiled distantly at Hermione as she removed her makeup. 

“Harry, why are you wearing makeup now?”

“Because I’m beautiful, Hermione. I’m beautiful in a rare, exotic, and annoying way. Either I ignore it, which won’t work, or I use it and make people get used to it. Hopefully, my eccentric self and obvious madness will make boys stay away.” She set her brush down and stripped. Her body was lean and starting to show defined muscles. She wasn’t curvy or soft by any means. Hermione looked at her own bared body. She had her baby fat still, and her thighs were getting bigger. She bit her lip and looked at Harry’s.

_ Everything about her seems to be so bloody perfect. She doesn’t even need braces, and her eyes were already fixed. She’s flawless, and she hates it. Why does she have to be so stupidly oblivious?! _

Lavender and Parvati rushed in and promptly ignored them both. Lavender was threatened by Hermione’s brain, and Parvati was threatened by Harry’s beauty. 

It made for a nice atmosphere.

Harry resolutely ignored the awkwardness of it all and settled into her bed. “Night.”

Hermione murmured her response and then slowly fell asleep, only to wake when Harry got out of her bed. “Harry?”

“Go back to sleep, Hermione.”

“No.” Hermione rushed after Harry and into the veil.

Harry turned sharply and glared at her. “What are you doing?!” 

Breathing faintly, Hermione stared at the Underworld. “Everyone’s gotten to see it except me. And why aren’t you sleeping?”

Rolling her eyes, Harry grunted and quickly took her to the house she grew up in. “This is the house Death owns. I grew up here.” Harry noticed Hermione giving her a look for avoiding her question. She sighed. “I can't sleep. I told you when I first met you that I am not human. Well, as my body matures, so does my magical self. As I go through adolescence, my body changes. I am incapable of sleeping. Instead, I gain energy by going back to my roots.” She waved her hand around them. “The Underworld.  _ You _ are slowly dying. I’m taking you back.”

“Not yet. Show me around.” Hermione stood up to her friend and crossed her arms. “I insist, Harry. I won’t cave to you anymore.” She marched inside Harry’s bedroom.

Moving back in shock, Harry frowned. “ _ Cave _ to me? What the hell?”

Nodding, Hermione frowned at her. “Ron and I both noticed that you are a lot more bossy and self-assured. You’re treating us like servants instead of friends.”

Harry sat down slowly on her bed and stared at nothing. Hermione waited quietly. “Damn it… I’m sorry.” Her friend looked up at Hermione quickly. “I’m so sorry!” 

The two girls held each other quickly as Harry poured everything out. Her family situation, Death’s pressure on her to stay immortal, everything that had still been bothering Harry. Hermione and she spoke for a long time, reclining on Harry’s bed in the middle of the Underworld.  Harry took her back to the world of the living when Hermione’s breathing got weaker. They appeared at the Astronomy Tower instead and continued their conversation.  Until dawn.  They simply talked about Hermione’s family, the world as a whole, what their favorite foods were, where they should go on holiday together since Harry could get them anywhere via shadows. 

“We need more girl time, Harriet.” Hermione pulled out a notebook and pen and started writing down a list. “Shopping for accessories, doing each other’s hair and nails, learning makeup together, trying on clothes in the Muggle malls, going out and having lunch together. You need to see a water park too! I can’t believe you haven’t. Sirius can take us to an amusement park also, and a carnival. We can enjoy it with him and Remus. My family can come along too. This summer we should do it.”

Truly overwhelmed with Hermione giving her a second chance, Harry cursed her period and found herself crying some more as she held Hermione close. “Thank you.”

“That’s what friends are for, Harry. You may be more knowledgeable and powerful than me, but you still need support and backup and a safety net. You are human still, Harry, and you need me, even if it’s only for hugs.”

“I need you for a lot more than that, Hermione.” Harry laughed and looked at her with a smile. “You’re so much better in research than I am. Death has all the answers and so I’m cheating all the time, but you know how to find them. If anything, you’re smarter than I am.”

“Hush. This isn’t a competition. Now, let’s get to bed.” Harry and Hermione walked through the shadows and into their room and then they curled up together in Hermione’s bed because Harry didn’t want to be alone. She hated sleeping alone, and she hated sleeping with the bed curtains drawn. It made her feel cut off from the world. Too much like a cupboard. 

~the next morning~

Harry arrived at breakfast the same time as Karkaroff and his band of Durmstrang students also arrived. Karkaroff saw her and stared at her in shock and slight awe. The other students who were of his school were also staring at her. 

They were also blocking the way. 

“Yeah, that’s Harry Potter.”

Karkaroff turned sharply and stared at Moody in shock. “You!”

Harry read the man’s soul swiftly and then smirked, twisting her red lips (red lipstick was allowed, just not black). He was a former follower of Grindelwald, and Moody was a Dark Wizard hunter. Nice. 

“Me. And unless you’ve got anything to say to Miss Potter, Karkaroff, you might want to move. You’re blocking the doorway.”

Harry walked in quietly after the man and sat at her table. She waved to Tom. The Slytherins were hosting the Durmstrang students. She noticed Antonin Dolohov was sitting on the opposite side, as far away from the visiting students as possible. She frowned slightly and then shrugged before turning back to her food. The day was Saturday, and everyone old enough was lining up to put their names in the cup.

Harry snorted and drank her juice. Tom made his way over, smirking as Draco bragged to an unamused Ron about having breakfast with Viktor Krum. Harry felt her happy mood start to slip away the more Draco brayed on about how he was convincing Viktor to spend the summer in the Malfoy villa in Switzerland. "Tom, please shut Draco up. He's getting on my last nerve." Her cramps were coming again too. Rubbing her stomach in a futile move to get the pain to stop, Harry looked at her food. She couldn't take a pain potion on an empty stomach. _Who's stupid idea was that?!_

"I don't know, Harry. Ron looks ready to explode." Tom snickered softly. "He turns fuchsia when he's just about to pop."

"Have I told you about my home in Switzerland? It's grand! Tom's been there too! There are twelve bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool. We bought it from Muggles and there's this strange screen in a large room in front of a lot of cushioned seats. We still haven't figured that bit out, but there's a ballroom, a mini-bar-"

"Tom either you shut him up, or I will."

Blinking at her and suddenly feeling Nagini rear her head and sniff, Tom frowned when Nagini shot away from Harry fast. _"Mating Mood, Master. Don't anger her."_

_"Nagini, come back here! Nagini, what are you talking about?"_

"BOMBARDA!" Suddenly Draco went sailing. Harry stood up and straightened her clothing and turned her wand on Tom. "Don't. Test. Me. I can't have coffee anymore because it supposedly makes the cramps worse. So I haven't had my morning coffee, and it seems like I can't have my morning breakfast in peace! Stop!" She pressed her wand against his throat harder. "If I can't have my breakfast in peace, then I'll be having my breakfast with you in pieces!" Hissing at the rest of the Slytherins- not in Parseltongue but the threat was still very much there- Harry sat down again next to Tom and ate her food. Hermione was looking at Ginny with wide eyes. Ginny was silently busting a gut and would not be helpful in diffusing the issue.

Tom edged a tiny bit away and froze when Harry gave him a beady-eyed, suspicious look. Swallowing, he slowly started eating in absolute silence. His posse had abandoned him for the safety of the Slytherin table, leaving their leader to be held over for torture. Tom would remember their treachery.

Strangely enough, Minerva and Severus both stopped Albus from standing and taking points since they wouldn't. "She blasted Malfoy! What has gotten into-"

"I know those symptoms, Headmaster." Severus shivered. "She is a lot like her mother. You were right when you said that."

"What?"

"Just...leave them be, Headmaster." Minerva gave him a look. "Just this once." 

Frowning, Albus narrowed his eyes and resolved to talk to Harry about this after breakfast.

After breakfast, Harry fell in step with Dumbledore. “Walk with me, Headmaster? The day is so beautiful.” Her eyes searched the sea of students around them before looking up at the older wizard.

Albus blinked at her in surprise and then smiled. “Of course, of course. I was just about to approach you to have a walk with.” He nodded to the others and walked out into the garden with her. “What’s the matter?” He tilted his head to the side and looked down at her in concern. "Why did you-"

“Nothing is the matter. It has simply come to my attention that I don’t enjoy life enough.” She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her face. “I’m changing, Headmaster. Into a more magical being. I cannot sleep. Have no need to. At night, I return to the Underworld.” Harry stopped and studied a white rose before humming and turning to the man beside her. “How is Grindelwald doing? Still chained up?” She rested her hands on her hips.

“Yes.” He exhaled. “I visited him just this morning. Quieter than usual, more subdued.” He frowned. Something wasn’t right. He wondered if he should tell her about his dream…

“Hmm…that’s strange. Grindelwald never stops talking. He likes his voice too much, and he’s never subdued… I don’t like it.” Shrugging tiredly, Harry turned away from the castle and looked at the glistening lake. “I’m going to teach you animation this week. You beat me back marvelously the other day. That was your test. You passed. Congratulations. Meet me at the graveyard in the center of the forest. You will be learning how to raise zombies, inferi, and other such pleasant things. This is the darker side of Necromancy. Well, all of it is dark, but you get the picture. More nasty, and has a tendency to stink a little.” Her smile was crooked.

Dumbledore chuckled and then looked at her intently. “You know of Karkaroff, yes?”

“Yes. Have you scanned his soul?” 

“I have. He’s not in league with Grindelwald that I know.” Dumbledore met her stare head-on.

Harry pursed her lips. “I still want to know where Pettigrew is. He’s been missing too long. It’s making me antsy.”

Dumbledore looked at the flowers and then plucked several of them and twined them into a crown. He waved his wand slightly and changed her makeup and then placed the crown on her black hair. “Isn’t that nicer, my dear?”

She looked at her reflection in a fountain and smiled. Her eyes were lined with brown instead of black, lips pink like rosebuds, skin still pale but lightly dusted with pink. On her head were white valley flowers made into a crown. She looked like a Fae Queen in the Spring.

“I look softer.” She looked at him and then smiled. “Thank you.” This made her feel...childish in her need for the more dark and dramatic. How stupid of her to think those dark colors would help. _What's wrong with me?_

He chuckled sadly. “You are losing your humanity in this fight.”

Harry shrugged casually. “I would have lost my humanity anyway. The moment I became the Master of Death, I lost my status as a human. The war brought Death’s attention to me, but I didn’t lose my humanity directly because of the war. But then, in a way, you’re losing your humanity too.” She gave him a worried look. “Grindelwald will not rest until he makes you his.” Harry bit her lip. “Albus, has it ever occurred to you that this might not end? This battle? The stress… Gellert Grindelwald cannot die. He is the Master of Death, and though Death does not serve him, Death cannot collect his soul unless Grindelwald allows it. We will be endlessly fighting, yin and yang. To and fro. Constantly battling an immortal fight that neither can win. Anytime we have him in prison, there's the strong chance he'll escape. No peace.” She felt sick.

“It has occurred to me.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke heavily. He was so tired of it all. Albus looked up at the blue sky and wondered if he could remember happier times. His entire life seemed dotted with danger and grief.

Harry seemed to understand, because her next words were, “Why can’t I simply stop?”

“Because if you do, then you will be forced to watch the world burn. You are their last line of defense.” Albus gave her a sad smile as he studied a bird sitting on a branch. A cardinal. It wasn’t singing.

She sagged slightly at that. “Then I will never rest.”

He looked away from the bird and turned towards Harry. Taking a deep, silent breath, he spoke slowly. “I will become a Master of Death, and a Master Necromancer, and I will help you.” She inhaled and turned and stared at him in shock.

“What?!”

Nodding, Albus adjusted her crown. “My brother and I have been discussing this. We both think that you shouldn’t be left alone in this world. True you have Death, but you shouldn’t always only have Death as your companion.” He gave her a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners slightly. “We will give up our mortality, our humanity, to save your sanity. Since your connection to Death is strongest, he will continue to heed your requests if given as orders, but he will not collect our souls. We will guard you and accompany you through history.” His eyes were dull but firm.

“Thank…you. Thank you, Albus. I…” Unable to verbalize her shock and gratitude, Harry only nodded quietly and then rubbed her uterus as the cramps spiked. 

She wanted to change the subject. “I was surprised when I was able to have a period. I thought this deathly business would take that away. Death cannot bring forth life, after all.” She laughed emptily. “I thought I was going to be barren.” 

"Oh. That explains that." Not explaining _his_ enigmatic comment further, Albus hummed and then rubbed his beardless chin. “Perhaps you are Life.” She stopped walking and stared at him in shock. Green eyes were wide.

“What?”

“You are the balance to Death.” He examined her shocked face and then chuckled. 

She felt like someone had shoved her off a cliff, and she was still falling. She had never thought about that. Never. She simply thought that she was Death’s shadow, the second Death.  “Life? I’m… I  _ can’t _ be…” Staring at her hands, Harry suddenly felt like a stranger in her own skin.

“It makes sense. You learned Necromancy to keep people alive after all.” He shrugged.

She lunged at Albus and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you. Thank you so much for comforting me! Everything's changing but you're always there!”

He smiled and patted her back gently. “That is what friends are for, my dear. And I feel that you are a closer friend to me than others who are my  _ peers _ .”  She snuggled deeper into him and sighed.  “But currently, to hug too long would raise eyebrows.” He glanced around them cautiously.

Jumping away, Harry flushed and then laughed. They turned back and re-entered the castle.

~that evening~

After the feast was done, Harry looked up quickly and watched who was going to be chosen. 

“Now, the first champion of Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!”

The applause rose and then fell slowly as Krum vanished from sight into the side room. 

“The second champion of Durmstrang will be Gerald Greene.” The boy who was the orphan, rose and bowed to the politely clapping audience and then he too left, though he took a moment to smile at Dumbledore and bow to him too.  Everyone focused back on the cup. “The first champion for Beauxbaton will be-” Dumbledore caught the paper, “-Fleur Delacour!” After the applause died down, he smiled and caught the second paper. “The second champion will be Jean Talbot.” The young man stood up and grinned widely. They applauded him too, but the other girls were sobbing in disappointment. Some boys too. 

Harry snorted. _Do they want to die so quickly in life?_

When everything died down again, the Hogwarts students leaned forward.  “The first champion for Hogwarts will be…” Dumbledore straightened in surprise and stared up at them in shock. “Thomas Riddle.”

“WHAT?!” That was Tom. He remained seated. “I will not stand and accept this. I will not stand and become a Champion.”

The school was buzzing with shouts and murmurs. Dumbledore waved his hand sharply, and they all calmed down.  Dumbledore exhaled. “You have been chosen no matter what you do. Stand and come up here, if you please.”  Tom snarled and stood, the firelight making him look darker than usual. He stepped up through the hall and gave Dumbledore a searing glare before vanishing into the side room.  “Now, the second champion for Hogwarts is…oh for pity sake.” Dumbledore rubbed his face in exasperation. “Harriet Potter.”

“FUCKING HELL IS THIS?!”

Speaking over the snorts from the Gryffindors, Snape snapped, “Language, Potter!” Snape gave her a glare. She stood up shakily and walked over to Dumbledore. She shook her head once and then went into the side room.  Tom wasn’t lying when he said that he hadn’t put his name in. None of the adults who couldn’t read his soul believed him though. 

He straightened and snapped his fingers. “Wait! Veritaserum!” He looked at Snape. “You have my permission to use it.”

Standing up, Harry gave all the adults a searing glare. “And mine as well.”

Sighing, Dumbledore had them both sign papers waiving their right to not be given it as minors. That done, Snape summoned the bottle and then gave both Tom and Harry a sip.  When they were certain that the two were under the influence, Albus spoke up. 

“Did you, Tom, manipulate anyone older than you to place your name in the cup?”

“No.”

“Did you, Tom, manage to put your own name in the cup?”

“No.”

“Did you, Tom, manipulate anyone older than you to place Harry’s name in the cup?”

“No.”

“Did you, Tom, manage to put Harry’s name in the cup?”

“No.”

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Harry and asked her the same exact questions. When he seemed satisfied, he stepped back and allowed the other headmaster and headmistress to interrogate them. 

Karkaroff sneered. “Did you, Harriet Potter, ask any teacher to cheat for you?”

There were mutterings from the teachers at that, but Harry stared at Karkaroff hard. “No.”

“Did any of your friends or followers volunteer to do it for you?” 

“No.”

Tom’s answers were the same.

Moody spoke up. “Would you have any enemies who would do this to you?” The others straightened in surprise. They hadn’t thought about that.

Harry opened her mouth and then frowned. “I have a suspicion.” She seemed reluctant to say. Moody leaned forward. 

“Tell me the name of your suspect.”

“…Pansy Parkinson.”

“Why?”

“I destroyed her father’s wealth and status and forced her ancient and noble house to become bankrupt.”

Madam Maxime blinked. “Why?!”

Harry stared at the woman icily. “Because she dared cross me and get my friend in trouble. I wanted to crush her.” Moody gave her a look of interest but then turned and looked at Karkaroff.

Karkaroff looked at Tom. “Would you have any enemies who would do this to you?”

“Plenty.”

Harry barked a laugh.

“Name them.”

“All the upper Slytherin students whom I stole power from in the Slytherin House, Pansy Parkinson, who doesn’t like me, and Grindelwald.”

Harry blinked. “Hadn’t thought of that.” She frowned suddenly. “But he’s chained up without magic!”

Tom shrugged. “He’s escaped before.”

Looking at Dumbledore, Moody scowled. “Maybe another visit would be in order?”

“Yes. I’ll do that tonight.” Albus looked at the others. “Satisfied?” 

They had to be.

“I’ll look into their suspects,” Moody growled this quietly to Dumbledore. The Headmaster nodded. 

“Thank you.”

They were allowed to leave soon after that. The other champions stared at them in disdain. They were fourteen years old. Harry smiled at them. 

Gerald Greene spoke up. “Are you two really going through with this?”

“Obviously. We’d be cursed if we failed to comply. Moron.” Tom stared at him intently. The whole idea of being forced into a tournament of death wasn't appealing to him in any way. "Child Protective Services would be all over this situation in a heartbeat."

Harry laughed lightly, eyes sparkling with vicious humor. “I agree, Tom, but for the rest of you..." She smiled wider. "Don’t be scared. We won’t hurt you…much.” Tom snickered and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her off. When they were walking alone, Harry spoke up. "Glad we're in this together. But, you haven't talked to me all day, Tom. What's with that?"

He blinked at her in surprise. "Well, you said..." He huffed a breath and shrugged. "Nevermind."

Word of their taking the serum and proving themselves innocent beyond a doubt did a huge thing in taking the school’s anger away. The Slytherins sneered at the Hufflepuffs, fans of Cedric, who thought the Snakes had stolen their moment. The Ravenclaws didn’t really care. Not many of them attempted to sign up for the tournament.  The Hufflepuffs, however, were pissed off that the Gryffindor Queen and Slytherin King had taken their chance yet again.  They were not happy with always being the last thought of the school. Harry rolled her eyes and decided to stay away from the student body until she would be able to lie again. Tom did the same, but not before cornering her in the corridor a few moments later. 

“Harry, do you love me? Romantically?”

Harry stared at him with wide eyes. Betrayal was clear in them, and then anger. Her mouth opened against her will. She closed it again.

Tom’s eyes flashed. “Tell me the truth, Harriet Potter! Do you love me romantically?!”

Blood leaked through her clamped lips as she bit her tongue. Finally, the magic grew too strong. “…yes.” Shoving him away, she snarled. “But you will never win me over now. You will  _ never _ win me over.” She ran down the hall to the portrait. 

Tom felt a sinking in his gut as he realized that he had just ripped open his friend’s trust in him. “No…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment in the box below, and thank you so much for reading!  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Ink...


	8. Fracture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Tom and Harry have another repetitive conversation and get some things out in the open. Those two hold a lot of crap deep inside them. Honestly.  
> Also, the ceremony for the wands is performed and Skeeter is now in the picture. ; D

~the next day~

Harry looked up when Ron settled down beside her. “Why do you always get yourself into these things? I know you can’t die, and it must be boring, but why do you pretend to hate it?”

“Because I do.” Harry fiddled with her fork. “Never had the chance to tell you or Hermione because of the party last night, but I didn’t do it.”

“Course not. You think I’m a moron right? I know you didn’t do it. Why should you? You already get plenty of attention without signing up to a deathmatch.” Ron snorted and ripped his bread roll to pieces. 

Harry turned her torso and stared at him hard. “Ron, I don’t think you truly understand me.” She grabbed an apple and her bags and then left.

Ron glowered at the table.

“Honestly, why is she talking with him? Harry Potter is like  _ the  _ celebrity of the Wizarding World, everyone wants to meet her in their lifetime. Why is she wasting her time with a class idiot like Ronald Weasley, and that squib Neville Longbottom…why is she friends with the losers?”

A Ravenclaw boy snorted. “Maybe she’s thinking that she can save them or something. You know, like a project. She’s always been a bit off. Maybe they’re her pets or something.” The girl beside him laughed. 

Ron bent his fork in double and stood up sharply, glaring at the two students until they shut up and paled. He marched out of the hall.

“Where’s Harry?”

“Um, she’s outside. Ron?” Hermione frowned and quickly followed her friend out to the garden. 

Harry was in the middle of turning a corner to walk away. Tom was walking towards them. 

“Harry!”

Pausing, she turned and waited for Ron to approach her. Ron nearly bowed to her exaltedness. “Yes?”

“Why do you act insane? Why do you giggle about death? You say that you hate attention, but you seem to go out of your way to attract it.” He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “Why do you treat your friends like we’re pawns in a chess game?”

“Hermione already told me about that. I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have-”

“Do you always treat your friends like House Elves?”

Harry looked up at him. “I’ve never had any friends besides you and Hermione, Ron. I don’t have much practice with friendship.”

Faltering but not for long, Ron snarled. “Then can you tell me why you say one thing and do another? Why do you always pretend to hate the people looking at you? You hate the attraction from boys, but you wear makeup to increase your pretty,  _ pretty  _ eyes. You hate the attention, but you giggle and draw the focus on yourself. Always. Always! It’s always about you! Why are you such an attention  _ whore _ , Harry?”

Green eyes turning to slits, Harry reared back and struck Ron across the face with such violence and strength that he flew backward four feet away from her. Her breathing was ragged as her eyes widened. “Ron, that wasn’t right! I’m sorry! I don’t know my own-”

“The niece isn’t all that different from the aunt, is she?” He stood up roughly and sneered at her. “Not different at all. You’re right to be afraid, Harry. If you don’t watch yourself, you’ll turn into Morgana.” He shoved Tom out of his way and marched off.

Harry stared after him, tears falling silently. She looked away from Ron’s retreating back and stared at her hand. Swallowing, she turned and ran.

Casting a tempus charm, Hermione realized that the weighing of the wands would happen in ten minutes. Biting her lip, she raced after her friend. She found her in the chapel. 

“Harry, you need to go now.”

“To do what? Stand beside Tom Riddle and hand my wand over to a master wandmaker? Stand beside the boy who forced me to tell him one of my secrets while under the truth serum?”

“What?!”

Harry tonelessly explained what happened. “Love is an aberration to me, Hermione.” She stared at her friend. “I have no time for romantic love. Once Tom finds out, and he will one day, about everything I’ve done, everything I’ve said, what I am, he’ll hate me. Why open my heart to that torture? Why waste my time dealing with that when I’ve got so much more on my plate? My mother died to save my life. Because of love. I’m alive because of love. I use to think it was wonderful, but love is nothing but a disease.” 

“You’re alive, she wanted you to be alive.”

“I don’t want to be alive.” Harry glanced at the stricken face of Hermione and scoffed. “Oh shush you. I’m not going to kill myself. I can’t anyway. I’m not suicidal. I just wish that I had never been born. Did you know that Neville Longbottom would have been the one who would have been the Boy Who Lived? I was a spare after all. All it needed to be was Grindelwald choosing  _ him _ over  _ me. _ I wish I had never been born. Nonexistence would be much more peaceful than living in this world of hell.” Harry exhaled and then crossed herself. “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have committed violence against my fellow and friend.” 

Hermione stayed quiet as her friend went through her prayer. “Do you really believe that magic and God mix?”

“Why not? Magic is too beautiful and balanced to be an accident. That’s an insult to magic. The gods are too chaotic to not have an Organizer. On their own, they would have long since destroyed us in their pettiness.” Harry arched an eyebrow and then remained kneeling in the cushion, staring at the candle’s flame. “I’m not going down that topic of conversation, Mione.”

“But-”

“Please leave me alone.” 

Hermione sighed and gave Harry a tight hug and then left. She saw Tom just outside. “Why did you do it?”

“I wanted to know once and for all.” He didn’t look remorseful. 

Gripping her hands tightly, Hermione shook her head. “You two need to stick together. Patch this up. Ron and she just had a huge spat.”

He snorted. “Yeah. I saw her send him flying. He deserved it.”

“He’s practically your brother!”

“So?” Tom raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her. “What’s that got to do with it? You know as well as I do that Ron deserved that.”

“Harry is afraid of being left alone, Tom. She wants friends but no lovers. Love is distracting. It’s…it’s the reason she’s alive and she hates it. When has her life been good?” Hermione knew she was sounding a bit hysterical.

“Plenty of times.”

“Exactly.” Hermione smiled at him. “Go in there and tell her that.”

Knowing when he had been played, Tom smirked and then saluted her sarcastically. “Fine.” He walked hesitantly into the chapel.  Catholicism had a bad history with him. Or he had a bad history with Catholics. It went both ways, he guessed. The priest he had accidentally blinded when the man had been attempting to exorcise him would probably agree with him.

“Hermione sent in the wrong reinforcements.” Harry’s voice was brittle.

“I tried to kill myself once.” He sat down beside her and then stubbornly did not cross himself.

Harry went still.

Tom exhaled. “It was after my fifteenth rejection from a family. They took the boy who had a porn addiction over me, because the matron of the orphanage, Mrs. Wool, told the parents that I had a troubled past. I didn’t want to live my entire life watching other people have a life that I couldn’t have. I had stolen a letter opener and had sharpened it. I was about to slit my wrists when an owl tapped on my window.” Tom snorted. “I’m not afraid of death exactly, Harry. I’m just…I just want to live my life to the fullest and not have to worry about it being cut off too soon. Magic is the reason I’m alive. Magic is the reason I want to live. Family is yours.”

“The reason I’m alive.” Her hands tightened their grip on her skirt.

Tom took her hand. “And the reason you want to live. Sirius Black would be destroyed if he lost you. Remus dotes on you as all get out. You are Hermione’s only friend.” 

She swallowed and looked at him. “And you?”

He stared at her, eyes heavy on her with focus. “I will love you until the day I die.”

“You will hate me before that day comes.” She tried to take her hand back, but he didn’t let go.

Tom exhaled and sat beside her. “I really couldn’t. If I found out that you had lied to me about everything, even about being a female or something, I would still love you. Your gender, your secrets, everything you might be hiding, I love you too much for anything to stand in my way.”

“I’ve been practicing Necromancy since I was three.” Harry didn’t look at him. The words slipped out before she could stop them. A part of her wondered if she should just erase it quickly before anything could come of it. She squashed that sickening temptation.

Tom inhaled sharply and then stared at her. “And all those books stating that you would die?”

“The Ministry started their slur campaign in the Middle Ages. They executed all the Necromancers and settled back, happy with their hard work. I would be executed the moment Grindelwald tells on me. But I’m the Girl Who Lived, so I’ll mostly have my death faked, and be arrested quietly.”

“Grindelwald?” Tom’s voice was hoarse.

She chuckled bitterly and told him everything, leaving out, yet again, the Deathly Hallows. She told him about being the Apprentice of Death, but not about her not being human. She told him about her inability to sleep, but not about her strengthening connection to magic. Tom had been taken by Grindelwald once before, and his soul was completely unprotected. She couldn’t tell him everything, couldn’t afford to tell him everything.  It churched in her stomach, all these lies. 

He breathed through it all and then nodded slowly. “Alright.”

This time she looked at him. “What?”

“I said alright.” He smirked at her tensely.

“But-”

“Harry, we can continue this conversation, but we really need to get to the wand ceremony. I trust you more than I trust those fat gits. I know you better than I knew you when we were eleven. You still have a slightly unhealthy fixation on Death, but that’s neither here nor there.” He smiled at her. “I’m sorry for manipulating you into telling me you love me.”

Jerking at his apology- Tom never apologized to anyone- Harry swallowed. “I can’t-”

“I know. Love is a distraction. Calm down. I’m not wanting to get married. I just want to kiss you.” He guided her out of the chapel and smiled at her. “Maybe I’ll kiss you after we win this tournament?” He winked at her and then pulled her to his side tightly. 

Harry wondered how he would react if he found out about  _ her _ wiping  _ his _ memory.  He wouldn’t be smiling. She knew that much. In light of everything she had done to him...she couldn't help but accept his apology. Besides, pragmatism prevailed inside her. She needed his help in surviving this tournament with her secrets intact. She couldn't afford to hold grudges.  They made it to the hall leading to the door before being ambushed by Pansy and her team. The other champions were heading towards the door. Gerald Greene and Viktor Krum paused and studied the impending confrontation. 

Harry raised her hand sharply to stop Tom from reacting. Instead, Harry smiled and moved closer to her. The girls were all wearing badges saying POTTER STINKS. Pansy tilted her head slowly. “Like them? We’ll be wearing them to your funeral. Half of the champions die in these tournaments. I’m holding out hope you’ll be one of them.” She smiled venomously.

“You a tragedy and a failure.” Pansy sucked in her breath. Harry wasn’t done. She scanned the girl’s soul and said what she knew would hurt the most. “You will never amount to anything. Your father is right about you. You’re just a little girl who is  _ nothing _ .”  With that, Harry walked away and passed the stunned group of Slytherin girls. Tom smirked and followed his friend.

Once in the outside, Harry hissed and blinked at the sunlight. Tom snorted. “Sunlight allergic to your skin yet?”

“Shut up, Tommy.”

The hand around her waist tightened. “Oh really? You don’t wanna go there, Harriet.”  She laughed and walked over to the line of champions. She saw several Hufflepuffs wearing the badges. They alternated between SLYTHERIN CHEATS and POTTER STINKS. 

Tom scoffed quietly even as Harry cursed. “Reporter alert. Two o’clock.”

This time Tom cursed too. “Shit. Skeeter. Nasty woman. Wouldn’t mind giving her the Cruciatus Curse.”

Laughing, Harry threw her head back and grinned at him widely. “Oh Tom, you say the nicest things about people.”

He grinned darkly. “Why thank you. I do try.”

The woman approached them quickly, but Harry raised her hand slowly and pushed into the woman’s mind the story Harry wanted her to write. Skeeter blinked and then turned away quickly.

Tom studied Harry. “What did you do?”

“I changed her mind about interviewing us and gave her the story she would write instead.”

“Oh.”

She gave Tom a sharp look even as she joined the line. “What?”

Lowering his voice, Tom exhaled. “You’re alright with manipulating people?”

Harry blinked and then opened her mouth, but Ollivander had arrived and was examining the wands. She hummed and leaned over to Tom, whispering, “Did you polish your wand?” She pulled her holly wand out.

He stuck his tongue into his cheek. “Why yes, Harry. Every morning when I get up I polish my  _ wand _ . Though I must say, I’m a bit shocked at your forwardness.”

She elbowed him violently, flushing to her ears. “Jerk.”

Gerald Greene, standing beside her, snickered quietly, even as Krum gave all three of them looks of displeasure. Fleur Delacour sniffed and showed, quite blatantly, that she thought them all immature and unworthy of her attention. 

Once Jean Talbot was done, Ollivander moved onto Fleur Delacour. Harry hummed and spoke softly. “So she  _ is _ part veela. Ron would like to know that.”

“Sure, tell him when he starts talking to you again.” Tom sneered quietly. “I never did think he was worth your time.”

She flipped her hair in a perfect copy of Fleur. “Hardly anyone is, Tom.” Her voice was pseudo arrogant. He bit his lip in laughter.

“Humility becomes you, Harriet. You must try it on more often.”

“You say the nicest things.” 

“I do try.”

“ _ Ahem.” _ Percy Weasley gave them both hard looks. 

Harry heard Fleur mutter something about children being children. She raised an eyebrow at Tom and made a face even as he tried not to laugh out loud at the arrogant twit. 

They were at Gerald Greene now in the line-up. Harry watched the boy intently. 

“Ahh, another Gregorovitch creation. Yes. Thirteen inches, ironwood. With…oh this is rare. Thunderbird feather. Very temperamental. Very. You must have extreme self-control, young man.”

Gerald grinned easily. “I do try, Sir.”

Ollivander nodded and then turned to Harry and blinked. “Oh yes! I remember you two. Made your wands myself. Matching cores, aren’t they?”

That caught everyone’s attention. Tom grinned as Harry hesitantly handed hers over. He knew that she didn’t like it when other people touched her things. It was a quirk with her, because while some people wouldn’t like it due to privacy, she  _ really, really _ didn’t like it. Like almost got enraged if someone touched her stuff.

Harry had also told him about the dual wand idea. He had been riveted by it and wanted to try it out later. At the moment, however, he looked up to see it was his turn. He handed his yew wand over.

“Yes. Powerful. Very powerful. You are a great wizard in training. Very capable, hmm?”

“Yes, sir.” Tom gave him a charming smile. Harry rolled her eyes as Ollivander turned away. 

Suddenly the wand weighing was over. All their wands checked out and were in good order. 

“Bloody hell. Photographs.” Harry contemplated changing the photographer’s mind, but Tom grabbed her wrist and pulled her in close. 

“Smile Harry. Your so beautiful when you want to be.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Harry smiled softly for the man, her makeup making her look sharp and dangerous. 

Tom knew he looked like a child compared to all the ‘teens’, but he had seen his father. He would grow up physically soon. And what did his appearance matter when he was crushing all his taller opponents into the dirt?

“In that case, you are gorgeous. When I see you at least.”

Harry exhaled in surprise. They were in public. “Tom.”

He grinned at her even as he pulled away from the group. She automatically followed him. “Yes?”

“What is with you? We are in public!”

“A very astute observation. I commend you.”

Harry hissed out a breath and stepped closer, lowering her voice angrily. “I want to smack you. Do not flirt with me!”

“Why?” He stared at her, dark eyes glittering. “Why shouldn’t I? You’ve made your opinions very clear.” He stood up straighter and moved closer to her, looking forward to the day when she would be looking up at him. “I was afraid that I had only imagined it, but…I know the truth now.”

She closed her eyes and exhaled viciously. “I have reasons for everything I do.” She gave him a look. “Let’s leave it at that.”

Bowing sarcastically, Tom nodded to her. “Very well.” His eyes held challenge though.

Harry swallowed and turned away. It was much later than she had wanted, but she made her way to dinner, only to find that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had stormed Hogwarts School.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Harry seemed to forgive Tom too quickly after that breach of trust, but she broke into his soul. Her guilt for that is making forgiving him for this easy.  
> I never claimed that their relationship was a healthy one. *shrugs  
> As for Ron, that'll sort itself out in due time.  
> Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment. : D  
> Ink...


	9. Money Talks but the Pen is Mightier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius is not pleased, Remus is done with everything, and Harry just wants to be left in peace.  
> Gellert always seems to be one step ahead of Harry, and she's getting tired of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up! In the scene where Harry confronts Ron (in this chapter), Harry calls Skeeter a c**t. I had to include this because it's showing Harry's personality development.  
> Ink...

Skeeter was happily writing down Sirius’ reaction to Harry Potter being- in Sirius’ words- ‘shanghaied into a dangerous and reckless tournament meant solely for human’s sport’. His niece was not a ‘gladiator to be used to entertain the idiotic and selfish masses in the most vicious way possible’. Sirius wasn’t saying this to Skeeter in an interview, however. He was screaming it at Dumbledore for letting it all happen. Power was curling off his body in waves making the room staticky and thick with tension. 

Harry had known her godfather was powerful, but she hadn’t seen or felt his strength before tonight.

Tom swallowed. “Damn. He’s not happy.”

“I wouldn’t expect him to be.” Blaise exhaled. “Mother wrote to me just earlier today warning me about this. I didn’t have a chance to tell you since you’ve been in ceremonies all day.”

Nodding, Tom frowned slightly as Sirius was getting close to challenging Dumbledore into a duel. Harry stood up from her table and made her way to her godfather. 

“I think it would be best if we continued this at a different location.” Harry nodded towards the slack-jawed reporters. 

Sirius turned and stared at Skeeter hard before grinning venomously. “The woman who sees all, writes all, and prints all. The woman who knows no fear and prints what everyone fears. Oh yes. I know Rita Stinker. Very well.”

The woman flushed at the nickname before shooting him a warning glare. Harry exhaled. “Shit.”

“That’s what she’s in yes.” Sirius grinned at her darkly and then turned away and practically abducted Dumbledore to the man’s own office. Harry closed her eyes and then moved over to Snape. 

“I’m going to be gone visiting a few people. Cover for me, will you?”

“Certainly. Don’t do anything stupid.” He gave her a hard stare.

She grinned. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Professor.” With that, she looked at Tom, tilted her head for him to follow her and then left. He grabbed a napkin, stuffed food into it for the both of them (Harry never ate enough) and rushed after her. 

When they were outside yet again, Harry smiled at him. “Come on, Tom.” She grabbed his hand and vanished them through the shadows. They appeared in Diagon Alley. Tom shivered slightly. 

“That was rough.”

“You wrote down your first experience with me in the diary and obviously didn’t remember. I didn’t tell you or show you again. The stress wasn’t worth it. Anyways, this is the law firm that Black and Potter both use. Come on.” She walked into the main office and smiled at the woman. “I’m Harriet Potter. I need to talk to one of my lawyers.”

The woman jumped but nodded and cut into the meeting. “Miss Potter is here to see you, sir.”

The man rushed out and hurried them into his office. “Miss Potter, I’m honored to see you. I heard about you entering the tournament. May I give my congratulations-”

“And condolences. I thank you for that. I’m not here for pleasantries, Mr. Leaman. I am here to ask you about laws that concern slander printed about minors.” She stared at him sharply. “Is it against the law in Wizarding England?”

The Half Blood wizard frowned and leaned back into his chair. “Has anything been printed yet?”

“Skeeter has finally caught notice of me. Something will come out in the evening edition, I suspect.” Harry sighed lazily, even though her eyes were sharp.

The man nodded. “Unfortunately, the Wizarding World is not as keen on the idea of protecting their children as the Muggle World is. Child laws and protections are still elusive here. There is nothing against the law for the  _ Daily Prophet _ to write anything they want about you.”

“That’s insane.” Tom gave Harry a worried look. “That’s utterly mad!”

She hummed in agreement and then gave Mr. Leaman a look. “And what protections does the  _ Daily Prophet _ have with the Ministry? They must have some, considering Skeeter never writes about the politicians, and no lawsuit ever sticks.”

Leaman smirked at her astuteness. “Quite right. They do have protection. The Ministry tells them what to write about their laws and legalities and then protects them from the retaliation.”

“But what about minor workers in the Ministry?” Tom frowned. “This snafu with the Quidditch World Cup was an awful backlash for Arthur Weasley. The  _ Daily Prophet _ wrote nasty things about him.”

“True.” Leaman exhaled slowly. “The paper can write about obvious Ministry mistakes and pin them on-”

“Expendable workers.” Harry murmured this to herself. “Damn.” She stood up and started pacing. Suddenly she stopped. “Does the Ministry own the land that the  _ Daily Prophet  _ is on?” She gave her lawyer a side look. He grinned slowly, catching her drift.

“No. It doesn’t. Shall I…get on that.”

Harry grinned darkly, lips twisting into a blood red smile. “Please do.”

Tom shivered slightly at her tone and look. She was a Queen alright. A beautiful and frightening Queen. One he would always worship. He swallowed.

Standing, Leaman shook Harry’s hand. “I’ll send you a letter about who owns it and how much they’re asking for.”

“Lean on them, and if they refuse even then, then tell me where they live, and I’ll give them a personal visit.” Suddenly, her face transformed into that of an angel, red lips and all. “I’m sure I can persuade them.”

Leaman stared at her and then laughed in shock. “I’m sure you can too. You are quite…an interesting young woman, Miss Potter.”

“Thank you, Mr. Leaman.” She stood up and walked out. Tom followed her. 

“So you buy the land and close the  _ Daily Prophet? _ ”

“Nothing so crude, Tom. You are always more vengeful than necessary. No. I buy the land, and then change policy.” She grabbed his hand and traveled them back to the school. They were directly in front of Snape’s office. “All I need to do is have a pow-wow with the owner of the  _ Daily Prophet _ . Then, I will…make them understand that getting the owner of the land deed angry would not be a very good choice.”

“And what do you want?” Tom leaned against the wall and grinned at her. “Out of this?”

“Nothing. They can continue doing everything their inky black hearts desire, as long as I am never written about. My name will never adorn the printed page. Nor will my photograph ever show up in their paper. According to the  _ Prophet _ , I am a ghost.”

“Tidy.” He chuckled softly and shoved his hands into his pocket.

She shrugged and smiled at Tom, suddenly looking completely normal once again. “You do realize, Tom, that I don’t like manipulating people.” She gave him a worried look. “I have to. Not because I enjoy it, but because there’s no other way. Skeeter will write about me, and turn the people against me, and I cannot afford to have them hate me. I  _ need _ them on my side, or the Ministry will destroy everyone I know and get away with it. The Weasleys, Dumbledore, Snape, you, the Grangers…the moment Grindelwald lets the cat out of the bag, the Ministry will be screaming for my public humiliation. I  _ must have _ Skeeter gagged before then.”

Tom stared at her and then nodded somberly. “You have a reason for everything.”

“I do.” She licked her lips. “I cannot have any romantic entanglements with you, Tom. You have your sights set on the top. I will only bring you down. I have seen Fudge’s soul. The man is a coward and hates Dumbledore with a jealous rage. He will leap at the chance to shame us both. You will not get caught in the crossfire.” 

Harry cupped his cheek softly, staring at him hard. “I cannot let your reputation get destroyed, Tom. Even if it means hurting you in every other way, I cannot ruin your life. I have enemies in very high places. Those same enemies are the people you need to befriend. Our destinations in life are the exact opposite.” She stared at him hard in the eyes.

He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand. “I understand.” Opening his eyes, he grinned suddenly. “Doesn’t mean I agree. Seems too dramatic for my taste. There will always be a way out for us. You can manipulate people, just wipe their minds.”

Pulling away quickly, she stepped back. “I hate doing that. It’s violating and wrong, and I’ve only done it once, and I will  _ never _ do it again.” She swallowed and then gave him a tense smile. “See you later.” With that, she hurried away.

Tom stared after her. Yearning.

~the next day~

Harry stared at the newspaper that everyone seemed to be reading. Skeeter would have written about what Harry had wanted, but because of Sirius’ extreme reaction, Skeeter decided to write about  _ that  _ instead.

Huffing out a breath, she scanned the article. 

_ ‘“The love that my godfather has for me is enough to get me through the day”, Harriet Potter says to correspondent Rita Skeeter, “but I still sometimes wish that my parents were here to see me. My life hasn’t been an easy one, I sometimes still cry over what Grindelwald stole from me, but I can get through it, knowing that they’re watching over me.”  _

_ ‘Life has never been easy for Harriet Potter, but it’s taken a turn for the worse now with this added stress. At least she will have the love she needs from Blaise Zabini. “He comes over to her place all the time since his mum is dating her godfather. They’re really close.” This was stated by Ronald Weasley, a close friend of Harry Potter’s. “I can’t watch her risk her life all the time. A couple of years ago, there was a scare she put everyone through, acting suicidal. It’s just too much. I want to be there for her, but she’s so reckless with her life all the time.”’ _

Harry snapped the paper down sharply onto the table. She stood up and stared at Ron. He wouldn’t look at her. 

“I was misquoted.”

“How nice.” She looked at him with a sneer. “Makes me wonder why you spoke to the cunt at all.” Hermione gasped at the word from Harry’s mouth. Harry ignored her. “Did you  _ want _ to be misquoted, Ronald? Fuck you and your fake friendship.  _ I trusted you _ .” She scoffed bitterly. “See where that landed me.” She turned and walked out of the hall, eating her apple, black nails cutting into the skin angrily.

Tom watched her leave before sending Ron a glare of loathing. His foster brother swallowed in obvious fear. Ron would pay for painting Harry as Blaise’s. He would pay.

As the day went on, Harry snarled and sniped. She didn’t like how this was putting the  _ world _ ’s eyes on her. She hated being in the spotlight, being read about, being  _ talked _ about. Grindelwald was probably laughing right about then. Laughing his head off.

Necromancers wanted  _ nothing _ to do with the limelight. It wasn’t healthy to be the talk of the Ministry.

She was jumpy. Everyone knew her face. A lot of people, strangers, were sending her fan mail. They were coming to Hogsmeade just to catch a glimpse of  _ her _ . This wasn’t right. It wasn’t according to her plans!

Swallowing, Harry leaned against a random wall and tried to breathe. 

“Harriet!”

Snarling, she turned and glowered at the person. “Yes? What?! Do you want to offer me a shoulder to cry on?! Get in line, you’d be the fifteenth boy who’s offered!” She blinked when Antonin Dolohov held up a quill. 

“You dropped this.”

Flushing, she took it and suddenly felt really stupid. “Right. Sorry.”

He smiled softly. Sadly. “Good luck out there, Harriet.” With that, he left her alone. Feeling strangely idiotic, Harry once again tried to breathe, gripping her quill tightly. She closed her eyes and tried to think.

_ I’ve never done a mass mind wipe before, only a slight tweaking of the memories in the school. Mind wipes are significantly harder to maintain. If it does happen, if the Ministry does find out, then what will I do? What will become of my friends?  _ She felt tears drip down her cheeks. This was the second or third time in her life that she has cried.

Sniffling, Harry looked up and saw Blaise staring at her sadly. He smiled and dropped his bag. Inhaling, she rushed over to him and let him hold her as she truly started crying. 

_ “What shall I do for you, teacher?” _

_ “Hold me and then never speak of this to anyone. Especially Aberforth.” _

Blaise snorted and held her tightly. “It’s going to be fine. You and Tom are the most competent, powerful people I know. You can handle anything that’s thrown at you, and if the worst does happen, and people start finding out, then you’ll deal with it like the boss you are.” He tapped her nose. She laughed in surprise. 

“Thank you.” He grinned and then gave her a final quick hug before letting her go. 

“Better leave before someone sees us and tells Tom.” He shuddered. “Don’t appreciate the glares he’s been giving me.”

“I’ll set him straight. Don’t worry.” She smiled at Blaise and then looked around. “ _ I’ll visit you and your mother during Christmas. You both need some intensive training. I have Sirius nearly done with shadows. Albus is moving onto animation, so is Snape. Aberforth is almost done with shadows. You and your mother need to show me how much you’ve been practicing. Since you two already had an edge on this, then I’ll just test you both and then skip over to animation. Okay?” _

He grinned and spoke quickly in reply.  _ “I will eagerly expect your arrival come winter holiday.” _ With that, he nodded and hurried off. 

Harry smiled, feeling much better, and then went off to her next class.

~the next day~

Flipping open her calendar, Harry stared at the date. A week until the first task. Tom leaned against her. “There’s a letter from your lawyer.” She looked up quickly and snatched it from him, ripping it open swiftly. 

“No.”

Tom gave her a concerned look at her shocked face. “What is it?” Wordlessly, she handed it to him. He scanned the letter and then had to sit down. “Bloody hell.”

She laughed brokenly. “That’s it then. We’ve lost that battle to him. Once he decides to let the cat out of the bag, then I’m done for. The  _ Daily Prophet  _ will spout it out and everyone will gobble it up. They read it in the paper so it  _ must _ be true.”

“When did Gellert Grindelwald fucking buy the deed to that land?!” Tom threw the letter onto the table. Harry, heedless of her makeup, rubbed her face in exhaustion. 

“I don’t have a clue. Maybe before the war? Back when he was winning everyone’s trust? When the Ministry didn’t fear him? Who knows? Who the fuck knows?” She rested her head on her arms and spoke to her lap. “I’m done. I know that now. But it’s not me that I’m worried about.”

“Never is with you.” Tom snorted. “I know. You’re more worried about me and the Weasleys and Granger and everyone who’s publicly backed you, who’s befriended you. Even if we aren’t arrested, the  _ Daily Prophet  _ is vicious.”

“Skeeter will skin you all alive. She’s a venomous little chit who likes to watch people bleed.”

Nagini slithered over to Harry and hissed in comfort. Tom nodded. “You’re right, but I don’t know how useful that advice is right now, Nagini.”

“What did she say?” Harry craned her neck and looked at the slitted eyed snake.

“You shouldn’t feel fear for a snake with long fangs. You don’t need longer fangs, just a faster lunge.” Harry stilled and then jerked upward and stared at the snake. 

“No…way…” She let out a mad, manic giggle of glee. “No way!” Jumping up, Harry beamed at Tom and then grabbed Nagini and hugged her. “I’m buying you a boatload of mice for this! Thank you!” Grabbing the letter, she rushed off and actually kicked up her heels in the hall before dodging Pince and rushing out of the library. From another table, Hermione blinked at her friend in passing and then shook her head and continued studying about Elves.

Tom still had a look of confusion on his face. “I have no idea what happened, Nagini. Sorry.” His snake hissed at him again, and he snorted. “No, I don’t think she was being serious about the mice. Sorry again.”

~meanwhile~

Harry vanished and appeared at the offices of the  _ Daily Prophet _ . She smiled at the man behind the desk. “I was wondering if I could speak to the editor in charge. I’m looking for a job.” She scanned the secretary’s soul and grinned in delight. The editor in charge was currently in a meeting with the owner of the paper. She wouldn’t have to hunt the man down after all. 

Nudging the man’s soul, Harry stared at him. **“Let me meet him.”** The man blinked and then buzzed her through. 

Smartly, Harry walked down the halls and into the man’s office. She slipped in and soothed their feathers before convincing the editor to let her and the owner, a Mr. Terrence Crest, talk privately. The editor promptly forgot she was even in there. 

She convinced the owner, who had, strangely enough, come into a good deal of money, to retire early and offer his paper up to the highest bidder. Harry bought it but made the man think he had gone through her lawyers and had never met her in person. 

Once done, Harry arranged the business transaction and left. She promptly sent a letter to her lawyers informing them of this transaction and to pretend that this had happened five months ago. Leaman confirmed with her and sorted the paperwork to corroborate her story. 

Harry went the goblins in person and had them transfer the funds to the former owner of the  _ Daily Prophet _ . Both the ‘inheritance money’ and the payment for the paper. She arranged with the goblins to have it in their records that this happened five months ago.

Harry vanished and appeared at Tom’s side once again. He jumped and then exhaled. “Must you?”

“Sorry.” She handed Nagini a toy boat, about two feet long and a foot wide and high, that was stuffed with mice. Dead of course.

Tom blinked at the offering. “Um…” He quickly grabbed his snake and hissed at her. Harry raised an eyebrow.

“They’re not poisoned.”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t think they were. It’s just that Nagini will explode if she eats them all. Ouch! You bit me!” He stared in utter shock as his familiar slithered into the boat. “NAGINI!”

“Tom! Shhh!”

Too late. Pince kicked them out, snake, boat, mice, and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed, and thank you all who have left comments! I enjoy receiving them!  
> Have a happy new year!! ; D  
> Ink...


	10. Fight or Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stone is put to good use, and Harry takes a stroll with Hagrid to make a fire-breathing discovery. She is not amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of this chapter: Hallows Headcount -- Wand is with Albus -- Cloak is with Harry -- Stone is with Tom.  
> Hope you enjoy!  
> Ink...

In a side garden now, Tom stared at his fat adder. She was stuffed with mice. He could  _ see _ the clump of mice as they moved down her long body. Nagini had a stomach ache. He rolled his eyes. “Don’t complain to me, Nagini. I tried to tell you, but you were content to  _ bite your master’s hand _ and eat yourself to near death.”

“At least she’s been given the anti-venom.” Harry smiled at Tom, who rolled his eyes and huffed.

His familiar whined some more, but he ignored her. Turning to Harry, he got up and joined her in exploring the garden. He snatched a flower off a bush and looked at it. “So what did you shoot off to do?”

“I bought the  _ Daily Prophet _ .” Harry smiled at him sweetly and skipped a little. Tom stood still and gaped at her. Even if he was wealthy now, the audacity to  _ buy _ a paper was…shocking.

“Oh.”

“Now I can give Skeeter a raise in reward for stopping her writing about me. I’d better go and see her sometime this week and tell her the good news.” Harry grinned at him and then did a perfect cartwheel. Tom blinked at her. 

“Where’d you learn to do that?”

“Watching the girls back at the Muggle schools, and playing with dead girls in the Underworld.” Harry flopped onto her back and stared at the sky. “Oh!” She turned over and handed Tom the ring. Grinning, she tilted her head at him. “Wards and spells and curses and hexes cannot stop me from breaking and entering. The Ministry was holding it and doing nothing to it. The curse that was on it from Grindelwald had been sprung by Dumbledore, so he can’t affect you anymore.” Harry didn't mention that she had taken a detour to the Headmaster's office with the stone for just a moment before returning it to him. 

Tom took the ring and stared at it. “Why give it to me?”

“You deserve it. It’s your legacy. Also, you can pry the stone loose, flip it and think of the person you want to bring back to life. You can keep them on this mortal world, or you can let them go back.”

“Who would I…” Tom faltered and then realized that he didn’t know who his mother was or what she looked like. Harry didn’t say anything. 

“As a Necromancer, I could summon my mother all the time. I’m quite close to both my parents. I can introduce you to them sometime soon, but you own that stone. It’s yours by birthright. You deserve to know exactly what it can do.”

He slipped the ring back onto his finger and swallowed. “Maybe later. Not now.”

“I can go.”

“No.” She looked at him when he grabbed her wrist tightly. “Never leave me.”

The smile Harry gave Tom was a sad one. “ _ I _ won’t be leaving you, Tom.” The way she said it made Tom think that he would be leaving her first. He frowned. 

“Harry-”

“Let’s not. Let’s just lie here and look at the sky and enjoy the breeze. Please.” She pleaded with him with her green eyes. He sighed but nodded and reclined again beside her. 

Harry hummed softly. “That looks like a duck.”

He grinned at the cloud she was pointing at. “That one over there looks like a pair of wands crossed.”

Laughing now, Harry pursed her lips in thought. “The one directly above your wands is a dog.”

“That one looks like a bird in flight.”

Tom slipped his hand into hers and entwined their fingers. Harry didn’t move away or comment. 

He smiled.

“Oo! That one looks like a House Elf’s head!”

~that night~

Harry looked up at the tapping. It was Hedwig. She crossed the common room, passing Ron without even looking in his direction. His words, misquoted or not, had kicked up the suicide rumors again. Pansy was using it to her advantage and was trying to get her kicked out of the school by calling her mentally deranged and unhealthy to be around impressionable first years.  Harry scowled as she untied the letter from her owl’s leg.  After having thought she had dealt with Pansy, finding out the girl still had a lot of fight in her was frustrating. Harry contemplated sending her to the Underworld for a bit and then bringing her back. That would surely shock her enough to keep her mute for the rest of her life.

Shaking her head, she opened the letter from Hagrid and read it. 

_ So he wants to meet me tonight, eh? Sure, alright. _ She shrugged and tossed the letter into the fireplace before giving Hedwig a scratch and letting her go back outside. Closing the window, she ignored how Ron was watching her. She refused to scan his soul. Knowing that if she saw him truly miserable, she’d crack and talk to him.  _ I know it’s immature and petty, but Ron’s stupid jealousies have got to be addressed or else they’ll surface again in a bad way! He’s so bloody insecure! And I already apologized to hitting him! So I'm in the clear! _ She sighed and went back to her studying. When the time was right, she slipped away and grabbed her cloak. Appearing a ways away, she threw her cloak over herself and knocked on Hagrid’s door. 

He made her put the cloak back on and follow him into the forest. At first, Harry was unimpressed. He wanted her to watch him while on a date?  What she found after following him was slightly worrying though.  _ Well, this spits in the face of everything Death taught me. Never fight hard fights where people could see my power. Scratched. Never die in public places where people can see me come back. Scratched. Never get into nasty situations where I’ll have to fight alongside another person. Scratched.  _ She stared at the dragons and felt like screaming.

Nothing from Charlie Weasley’s soul told her how to kill, maim, or subdue a dragon either, with only Tom helping her that is. She couldn't exactly haul a huge net enchanted with electricity spells along with her into the arena.

Harry squeezed Hagrid’s arm in thanks for showing her and then left quickly, bypassing a spying Karkaroff while she did so. 

She vanished and then appeared directly in Tom’s bedroom. He jumped about a mile high when she appeared. Blaise cursed in shock and covered his nudity.

“Must you?!”

“Harry, what are you doing in the boy’s dorms?!”

Suddenly, both Blaise and Tom stared at each other. 

“YOU KNOW?!”  Both of them shouted that at the same time. It was quite impressive. Harry leaned against the door and watched them lazily.

“Er, um, Necromancy is the family art. I knew Harry was one simply by watching her, one can always see another self-same magic user. Anyway, I asked her to help train me and my mother. She agreed.”

Tom stared at him hard. “When was this?”

Blaise blanched. “Er…”

“Stop scaring my pupil, Tom. That’s my job. Blaise, chill. I didn’t see anything anyways.” She sat on Tom’s bed and exhaled. “It was after second year that all the training started. I told Blaise not to tell you since you’re a scaredy-cat about Death.” She rolled her eyes at him.

Tom pushed her off his bed. She squealed in outrage as she fell onto the floor. “Owww…my tailbone!” Jumping up, she lunged at him and started tickling him.  Nagini slithered away in a sulk for them waking her up. She was still quite plump from all the mice and very cranky. 

Blaise exhaled and watched his teacher and his leader act like hooligans. It was disconcerting.  _ They really match each other _ . That wasn’t a comforting thought. After all the saying was 'opposites attract'. He shuddered to think about what this world would go through if they became enemies.  “Ahem.” He raised an eyebrow. “Some of us want some sleep.”

“Right! Come on!” She grabbed Tom and traveled with him out of the dorms and directly into Snape’s quarters. 

“THE BLOODY HELL?!”

“SNAPE!” Harry rolled her eyes and waved Snape down. “Oh put your wand down. I’m not going to test you tonight. And Tom knows about my being a Necromancer. He knows about Blaise and his mother also. Tom, I’ve started training Snape too. Now! This isn’t what I wanted to tell you all.” She exhaled and then cleared her throat. “It’s bloody dragons, Tom. Hagrid just showed me tonight. We’ve got to get passed bloody dragons without dying.”

He sat down silently. Snape cursed softly. “Someone definitely wants one of you dead. My money is that Harry is the intended target, and Tom is collateral.”

“How comforting.” Tom sneered and glowered into the fire. “And you can’t use this Necromancy…” He stared at the potions lining Snape’s study shelves. His face brightened. “Poison them.”

“Nope.” Harry shook her head. “Dragons have immunity to almost all poisons.”

“Doesn’t mean there isn’t one we can’t find. Just let me do some research-”

“And how would you administer this?” Snape raised an eyebrow at him. Tom snorted. 

“Harry can do that shadow travel thing, and slip it into their food. No dragons. No first task. No danger. No death. No big reveal of secrets. Simple.”

“Let’s try and find another way without ending the lives of three magical beasts.” Harry gave him a sharp look and continued pacing. “The reason I brought us to Severus is that he is  _ the _ Slytherin. He can help us with the research too, since he’s a teacher.” 

Tom shot Snape a look for Harry calling him  _ the Slytherin. _ He was the heir, dammit!

Ignoring the boy, Snape huffed. “What makes you think I will help you?”

She smiled at him. “What makes you want to break three years of protecting me?”

“What?” Tom gave her a look and then looked at Snape. “You’re her bodyguard or something?”

“Hell.” Snape silently gave in and stood up and perused the books. “There are some darker spells in my collection that I might find of use for you. I’ll let you know before the first task of course. Leave me now to sleep.”

Huffing, Harry grabbed Tom, but he pulled away. “What’s this about protecting you?”

“You were right. Snape has been my bodyguard since I first dealt with Grindelwald as a toddler. He’s been protecting me all my life. Come on. He’s extra testy when he’s tired.”

“Do shut up, Potter. Your voice is a curse to my ears.”

“Thank you, Severus. I’ll remember this come the next pop quiz.” She gave him a nasty smile, one that he readily returned, and then she vanished with Tom. She dropped him off at his room and then vanished again with a swift hug. 

Tom stared at Blaise. “You, your mother, and Snape. Anyone else know about this?”

“Erm…their privacy…sorry. I’m the only one from your team if that’s any comfort.” Blade swallowed nervously.

Tom found it actually was. Nodding, he huffed. “You know what this means, right?” He reclined onto his bed and stared at his fellow Slytherin.

“What does it mean?”

Tom smiled. “I’m going to have to learn Necromancy too now.”

Blaise blinked at him and then found himself smiling. “That would be interesting to watch. Harry’s a very hard teacher, almost brutal.”

Tom grinned as the idea sprouted in his mind. He liked it.

~back to Harry~

Only an hour had passed since her meeting with Snape and Tom. She exhaled slowly as she entered the house. “Sirius? Remus?”

They rushed in and held her tightly. “Sorry for making such a huge racket at the school, Harry, but when I think about them letting this happen, knowing it’s not your fault- it makes my blood boil!”

“I know.” She smiled at him and then sat down slowly. “But you need to know…” She exhaled. “It’s dragons. That’s the first task.”

Remus sat down and stared at her. “Dragons.”

“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!” That set Sirius off again. He started pacing the living room in a rage. Harry sighed and accepted her tea from a worried Dobby.

“Is Miss Potter gonna be okay?” His eyes were brimming with tears. Quickly, Harry assured him that she would be. 

“I’ll be fine, Dobby. Don’t you worry. I won’t die.”

Sirius snarled. “But you  _ can _ be arrested. This could explode in our faces if we’re not careful.”

Remus frowned. “I don’t know of any way to subdue a dragon.”

“Their eyes are the only weak spots they’ve got.” Sirius sat down beside Harry. “The conjuntivitis curse-”

“No.”

“Remus! That’s the only-”

“That should only be the last resort.” Shaking his head at Sirius, Remus gave Harry a look. “It harms the dragon and causes it pain. That might lose you points.”

“Harry doesn’t care about the points!” Sirius drank his tea in one gulp and then poured brandy into the teacup instead. “She only wants to get out of this without showing her secrets off to the bloody world!”

“That’s why I said it’s the last resort. I’m sure there is some other way that she can win. Maybe charm it, Harry? Like you told me you did with Fluffy.”

Harry groaned and shook her head. “Fluffy is a beast of the Underworld. Death has already told me that he’s got nothing for magical beasts of the world of the living. My powers will do nothing, and besides, I’d be seen manipulating shadows in front of  _ Crouch _ and  _ Moody  _ of all people.” She shuddered. “Dark Wizard hunters the both of them.” Sirius glowered at the fireplace.

“I still say that’s the best option you’ve got. I heard about Karkaroff, Harry.” Remus paled slightly at the name. Sirius continued, looking at her intently. “He was a devout follower of Grindelwald. Be careful of him. Even though he ran after the war, he’s a coward. He’ll cave and join Grindelwald again. He might not be willing or currently in league with the monster, but he’ll most likely submit.”

Swallowing, Harry nodded, making a note to scan the man’s soul a little more thoroughly. “Right.”

Dobby gave Sirius a brandy glass instead. Sirius blinked and then grinned at Dobby. “Excellent. Thank you, Dobby.”

The Elf flushed and then smiled and scampered off.

Leaning her head back, Harry grinned. “At least we don’t have to worry about Skeeter anymore.” Both her guardians looked at her in curiosity.

“Oh?” Remus raised an eyebrow and gave her a look. “What’s happened?”

Laughing, Harry kicked off her shoes and drank down her tea. “I bought the paper.” She gave them a coy smile.

Sirius burst out laughing. “Of all the audacious, brazen- Oh! I love this!” He ruffled her hair fondly. “You really are a dangerous woman, aren’t you, Harry Bear?”

She smiled up at him sweetly. “I’m only acting the way my more Black-hearted relations would act.” He smirked.

“You do actually remind me of my great-grandfather. The old coot was as cunning as they come. Dangerous too. What are you going to do with Skeeter?”

“She’s a selfish, vain woman who likes to have power. I’ll give her money, a raise.”

Looking worried, Remus frowned. “She can’t know you’re the owner of the paper, Harry. If she does, then she’ll quit and try to beat you in a power play. It’ll be a matter of pride then. She won’t take a bribe from you.” 

Nodding slowly, Harry hummed. “Point. Well, I’ll have someone else to play the owner for me. Someone not blatantly affiliated with me and with money of their own.” 

Sirius snapped his fingers. “Karina! She’s perfect for it! An ambitious woman of business.” He grinned softly. “Beautiful too.” Remus groaned at the sappy man.

Harry’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Karina Zabini. I  _ like _ that idea.” She looked at Sirius. “Can you tell her that she is now the proud owner of a newspaper?”

He snorted and nodded. 

“Oh what a tangled web we weave…” Remus sighed sadly.

“Oh, I’m not finished yet. It’ll be a beautiful tapestry by the time I’m done though.” Harry jumped up and then gave her guardians a tight hug. “Oh! Tom also knows about my being a Necromancer. He doesn’t know about my being the Master of Death though. He found out about Blaise, Karina, and Severus, but no one else. Be safe!” She blew them both a kiss and then opened a doorway to the Underworld and vanished into it. 

The last things she saw were their shocked faces.

She spent the rest of the night there, reenergizing before slipping back into the world of the living. 

By the time morning came, Harry was rested but still no closer to finding out what to bloody do about a dragon. Tom was worried, ignorant of her inability to die, but knowing of her important secret that could not be shown at any cost.  “Your godfather’s right. The curse is our best option. Even if it does lose us points, we aren’t in this to win. Only to survive.” He looked worried. Harry grabbed his hands. 

“Relax Tom. If worse comes to worst, then I will have to remove the memories from all of them. It can be done.” He nodded but still looked worried.

“Mass wiping is sloppy and hard to do. It’s easy to let some things slip, and there’s the fact that you always have to check up on them. I’d rather we not have to worry about it in the first place.”

“You’re right.” Harry sighed slightly and shook her head as she looked around at the sunrise. They were in the Astronomy Tower.

Leaning over to the stack of books from the library, Tom grabbed another book about Dragons. Hermione came over and joined them. Draco and Blaise climbed up the stairs too. Both balancing stacks of books. They were all looking for hypnotic spells and fire protection charms. Anything that Harry and Tom could do with only their wands. They would have done this in the library, but Krum was always there with his gaggle of giggling girls. And Pince didn’t trust them anymore (a tragedy Tom and Hermione were still recovering from).

Only five more days till the first task. Harry closed her book tiredly. She was filled with nerves and worry. All her past contact with Grindelwald had been private and in controlled environments. Everything had been under her control, but this…this was being covered by photographers and news reporters.  _ And _ hundreds of witnesses were involved. Swallowing, she packed up her stuff and quietly left the tower. Hermione had given her a worried look, but Harry didn’t respond to it.

_ What will it be like staying in the Necromancer Tower of Numenguard? _ She swallowed. The secret of her immortality would be outed immediately after she came back from her first execution.  _ If they indeed do execute me. I wonder how the world would respond? They have charms that counter the Necromancer’s power, but I’m the Apprentice and a Master of Death. Once they execute me, they’ll dispose of my body. I’ll come back and continue on, but I can never again be Harriet Potter. I’ll have to move someplace else. What will happen to Grindelwald? Albus can’t take him on alone! He’s immortal now thanks to Tom’s stone and my cloak and his wand, but he’s still an acolyte! Grindelwald will rip him to pieces and rape him if he captures Albus! _

She shuddered slightly and tried to think it through. She couldn’t be seen with Albus at the moment. That would be seen as cheating in the eyes of the student body, and the other two houses already hated her enough as it was. Harry wasn’t ignorant of the vicious murmurings that were going on about her and Tom. How Harry the Hatter and the Snake King snuck their way into the tournament and tricked the Veritaserum. They were not very popular at the moment among the two remaining houses.

Harry entered the common room and saw Ron. Suddenly the fine weather attitude of the one she  _ thought _ was her friend got to her. Marching over to him, she slammed her hands down on the table he was sitting at. “You know, if you really want the fame I’ve got, I could turn into a Dark Lady and massacre your family and brand you with a mark or a scar. Of course, I’d have to shoot the Killing Curse at you, and you’d have to survive it. However, if your mother jumped in front of you, you would most definitely. I’d have to slaughter your family though. Is that the price you want to pay to be famous in this fickle world?” 

She leaned closer and grinned at him maniacally. “You want so much to be as famous as I am, Ronnikins. All you have to do is become an orphan, get tortured by your only living relatives, and hunted down by a mass-murdering psychopathic Dark Lord. Easy peasy.” She patted his cheek before snarling at him and walking away. “And then, of course, be betrayed by one of the few people you thought were your closest friends.” With that, she stormed off to her room, ignoring the slack-jawed witnesses.


	11. Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Tom get their first task, and Ron gets his head on straight.   
> Flying around dragons, nearly being killed, all a day in the life of Harriet Potter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe it's 2020. A new decade!   
> Amazing! : )  
> Ink...

~three days till the tournament~

Ron was still not talking to her, but she could see him giving her worried looks and guilty glances. She snarled and crushed the glass in her hand. Tom jumped and then gave her a look.

“Must you?” He pulled the shards out of her hand and then healed her up quickly. 

“Sorry, Tom. Am I interrupting your study time?” Her voice was cutting and dark.

Daphne looked at Theo nervously. This was a side that they hadn’t seen. Harry was actually getting worried about this. As unobtrusively as possible, Draco buried his face in his book and tried to become one with his surroundings.  Harry had been really vicious lately in her words towards anyone who caught her notice and ire. She actually sent Peeves crying. And the irking thing was nobody heard what she had said to him!  Glancing at Blaise, Draco noticed him twisting the skull ring on his finger nervously. Blaise shared a look with him and then nudged Hermione. 

Looking up, the girl sighed. “Harry, go and spar with Tom or something. You need to vent.”

Tom snorted. “I’m not making that mistake again. Nope. I will not spar with Harry until she’s more calm and collected.” Her power was so uncontrollable at the moment that she had accidentally slammed him across the room. True, she had been  _ very  _ apologetic, but until he was a Necromancer and tougher, he wouldn’t spar with her at all.  Speaking of which, Harry had been very reluctant to teach him, on the account that she was worried the power would go to his head. He scoffed mentally. He’d have to wear her down on that.  _ While I’m at it, I’ll have to seduce her too. _ He really wished his body would grow up and mature. Looking like a child was annoying.

Harry huffed, snatched her things up and marched away. “Fine!”

Daphne exhaled slowly. “She’s never been this ruffled and worried at anything.”

Nodding, Hermione swallowed. “She really hates being the center of attention. In the school, she can handle it. Just bored students with nothing better to do, but becoming a household name in the outside world really bothers her.”

They nodded, knowing Harry’s penchant for wanting to stay in the background.

~meanwhile~

Grindelwald smiled at the daughter of the Italian Ambassador, Alstair. Louisa Alstair blushed lightly as he kissed her hand. 

This was a very fruitful dinner party. Of course, he had to wear glamour in order to attend it, but after he secured Alstair’s loyalty again- the man’s father was a devout follower and had raised his son in the same way- he wouldn’t have to hide in this circle. 

~meanwhile~

Harry slumped into her seat, tired from sparring with Death. Lily floated into the living room, holding James’ hand. They hadn’t spoken about Harry’s living relatives again, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t on their minds. 

Harry turned to them and smiled. “Remember hearing about Tri-Wizard Tournaments back in the day?”

They nodded. 

“Funny story…”

~five minutes later~

“James, you’re working yourself into an evaporation again! Stop it and calm down! Our little girl can’t die.”

“Yes, but she can be caught and captured and tortured by the Ministry, and there are things worse than death, Lily!” He stared at her angrily. “Those Aurors could torture my little girl!” 

Death nodded in the background. Harry smacked him.

Lily blanched. “Oh…” Suddenly, she became very translucent. Harry groaned. 

“Not you too! Listen, Tom and I already have two ideas of dealing with the dragons. Both are violent, but I’ll do them if need be. The Conjuntivitis Curse or poisoning them before the first task.”

Death snorted. “Very violent but very efficient. Your secrets over the dragons’ lives. Understandable. I think poisoning them would be best.”

Harry looked at her parents. Lily was frowning slightly in thought. “No. There must be another way. Maybe summoning a potion that could make them sleep? You can only bring your wand into the arena, but that doesn’t mean you can’t  _ summon _ something else once inside.” She sat down beside her daughter.

James stilled in his floating/pacing. He turned and stared at his daughter. “Maybe summoning a…another animal! To fight the dragon off!”

Shaking her head, Harry pursed her lips. “No, the animal would cost me points. If the dragon kills it that is.”

Lily frowned in thought and then looked at Death before speaking to her daughter. “Play to your strengths, Harry. What do you do well?”

Snorting, Harry leaned into the sofa. “I fight well, I’m a bloody good Necromancer, I can draw, I can fly, and I-” Her eyes widened. “Merlin’s beard…I’ve got an idea.” She grinned wide and blew her parents a kiss. “I’ll outfly the thing on my broom! Ta! And thank you!”

James blink and then looked at Lily. His wife huffed. “She gets that insanity from  _ your  _ side of the family.” He snorted in reply.

Meanwhile, Harry appeared again in Tom’s room. Blaise yelped and jumped back into the bathroom. Harry blinked. “That time I  _ did _ see something.”

“HARRY! BLOODY KNOCK FIRST!”

~one day before the first task~

Tom had latched onto her idea with eagerness, however, he didn’t like the idea of flying on a broom beside her. No. He hated brooms.

But…

With a grin, Tom exhaled and stepped off the Astronomy Tower ledge and then whispered the spell. He stopped falling. With a roaring laugh of triumph, Tom urged his magic upwards, and he  _ soared _ .

~the first task~

Now that Harry and Tom had a plan in action, Harry’s smiles and coy laughs returned. She was smug, confident, and as happy as a Mad Hatter.

Bagman produced a bag of purple silk and grinned. “Decide among you who’s going to do the drawing.” Tom eyed the bag and snorted.

“If you think I’m sticking my hand into a bag I can’t see into, then you’re mad.”

Gerald Greene barked a laugh and then watched as Fleur reached over before Jean could. The French boy gave his partner a look. Harry had heard that there had been some issues with them working together. She hoped it would give her and Tom an edge. The Welsh Green came out and had a number one around its neck. Tom gritted his teeth and cursed.  That was the easiest of the three.  Harry grabbed a dragon in the bag. The Hungarian Horntail. Three. They would go last.

Tom cursed. “Horntail, mother _ fucker _ .” He was the only one able to speak at the moment.

Swallowing thickly, Krum reached in and grabbed the Chinese Fireball. It had a two around its neck.  Pale faced, Fleur went out, looking like she was going to her execution. Jean was right behind her, looking much the same way.  Harry knew that if she and Tom failed this, then she  _ would _ be going to her execution. Tom grabbed her hand and smiled at her tensely.  The French students must have passed since the crowds cheered. Krum and Greene stood up. 

He gave Harry a grin and a nod. “Good luck to you.”

She blinked and then nodded back. “You as well.” He walked out with his partner.

They passed too with the crowd cheering them on. 

Tom took her hand and swallowed. “Kiss for luck?” He grinned at her.  Harry laughed and stared at him before grabbing his green tie and pulling him closer and kissing him, softly, searchingly. He kissed back after a moment of surprise and then coaxed her to open her mouth.  Harry hadn’t a clue how Tom had learned to kiss, but he had, and he was good.

They parted. She exhaled. “If we survive this, then we aren’t repeating that.” He snorted, eyes gleaming.

“Yeah right sure.” She huffed and then marched out. He followed her out, grinning like a cat.

Blinking in the sunlight, Tom looked at the dragon. “Oh. Chained. That was nice of them.”

“Wasn’t it just?” Harry slipped out her wand and exhaled. “Accio Firebolt!” The audience stirred at the spell. 

The broom zipped through the air and landed with a solid smack into her hand. Harry slammed the end of the broom onto the ground and then used it to flip forward. Landing, Harry grinned and looked at Tom. “Remember the plan.” 

“Got it.” He smirked at her and then waited for her. Staying out of sight and on the ground, he grinned as Harry shot into the air and slowly coaxed the dragon to fly.

She swerved to the side to avoid the dragon snapping at her with its razor sharp teeth. Exhaling, she flipped upwards and backwards and then twirled around the neck of the dragon, forcing it to twist around and try and snap at her. 

“Great Scott! That girl can fly!”

Harry grinned darkly once the dragon finally lunged into the air and left the nest alone. “NOW TOM!”

Without wasting precious time climbing up the nest, Tom simply rose into the air and flew without a broom to the nest. He alighted onto the straw and rock stack and glanced once at the dragon before grabbing at the golden egg. 

The crowd was screaming as he weaved and shot through the air to avoid the dragon’s tail. He nearly got clipped right when he grabbed the egg, but he evaded it and zipped straight into the air, flying side by side Harry, out of the dragon’s reach.

The crowd was on their feet. 

Holding the egg, Tom high fived her, grinning gleefully.

He then did a loop in the air before racing off to the medical tent. Harry followed him, landing soon after.  When they landed, they stared at each other, and then burst into laughter before grabbing each other and hugging tightly. “We did it!” Harry gave Tom a light kiss on his cheek and the pulled away to hug Hermione. She faltered when she saw Ron directly behind her. 

The boy swallowed and then shuffled his feet. “I’m an idiot. I’m…Harry, I’m really sorry. You aren’t your aunt. You aren’t an attention wh…yeah. You aren’t any of that! I’m so sorry.” He rubbed his face. Harry looked into his soul and saw how truly wretched he was actually feeling. Smiling, she stepped up to him and pulled him into a hug.

“I forgive you, Ron.” He gave her a shocked look and then a beaming smile.

Tom huffed in the background. “I don’t.”

“Tom.”

He rolled his eyes. “Do my chores for the next holiday and I will.” Ron snorted but nodded.

“Fine.”

Tom grinned. “Excellent.”

Groaning, Harry shook her head and then looked over when she felt someone’s stare on her. It was Greene and Krum, both were studying her intently. Her and Tom. She bristled and raised an eyebrow. Greene smiled back at her and bowed in her direction. Congratulations.  Swallowing, she hurried with her friends out to see the scores.  She knew then that Krum and Greene would be seeing her and Tom as real competition after this. Fleur and Jean would too. They wouldn’t be seen as children anymore.  _ There goes our edge in this bloody competition. _

Ron was chattering quickly by her side, describing what the other champions had done. Fleur had put it into a trance while her partner turned invisible and grabbed the egg, but the dragons sneezed halfway through in his sleep and caught Fleur’s skirt on fire.

Tom barked a laugh at that. “And Durmstrang?”

“Krum shot a curse at its eyes while Greene performed a perfect apparation to the nest, since we’re not technically on Hogwarts ground. The dragon destroyed the remaining eggs, and they lost points for that, since their not supposed to damage anything permanently.”

They quieted and watched the judges. Madame Maxime sent an eight into the air. Harry shrugged. “Fair I guess. I did nearly get clipped by that damn tail.”

“You and me both.” Tom didn’t report his injury, but his back got grazed by the tail spikes.

Crouch sent up a nine, so did Dumbledore. Harry grinned at Tom. He had been complaining that Dumbledore would give them bad scores because the man didn’t seem to like him. Tom exhaled and smiled at her. “Fine, fine.”

Bagman gave them a ten. Harry blinked in surprise. “Oh, but we weren’t  _ that _ good-”

“Shush, Harry. Let the man do as he wants.” Tom smirked at her. “Never look a gift horse in the mouth after all.”

Agreeing but confused at the phrase, Ron made a face. “Huh?”

“Shh!” Hermione looked at the last judge. Karkaroff shot up a four. That had all the Slytherins jeering in anger. The Gryffindors too were screaming in outrage. Ron was shouting along with them.  Harry smiled at that. He was her ally again. It was a nice feeling.  Having friends. 

At the teachers' bench,  Minerva blinked and looked over at Severus. “I never would have believed I’d see the day where the Slytherins and the Gryffindors would  _ team up. _ ” Her eyes were wide.

Watching his house chant in time with the Lions, Severus suddenly felt a strong urge to get drunk. “Neither did I.” He stood up and left.

Meanwhile, Harry looked over at Bagman, who was spouting instructions about the next task. Tom leaned over to her.  “Was it me, or was this too easy?”

“It’s meant to challenge the body. This tournament wasn’t meant for people like you and me, Tom. Look.” She pointed to Fleur, who was panting, still out of breath and wounded. Krum was favoring his left leg. Greene had gotten through easily enough, but he still looked tired. “You and I are too powerful, Tom. The only people who are equal to us in power are Dumbledore and Grindelwald.”

Tom hummed and then flashed her a grin. “This thing should be easy peasy then, huh?”

“Let’s just figure this egg out and put all judgments on hold.” She gave him a warning look and then looked at the egg before handing it off to Tom. “Just a mo. I need to talk to Ron.” Tom huffed but walked off towards the school. 

Death appeared beside her. “He’s becoming attached even more. That kiss and your forced confession certainly have inspired him. Are you sure that resisting is wise? If you gave in, then you could control him better.”

‘ _ Control him? Death, please. I’m not Grindelwald. Wiping his memory was bad enough.’ _ Harry moved over to Ron. Death floated above them and looked around for the ghosts. There were none. Quickly, he moved after them.

He arrived just in time for Harry to laugh at Skeeter. “I only have two words for you. Goodbye, Sweetie!” With that, she pulled Ron away, arms still linked. “Silly woman will have a panic attack when she hears the truth.” Harry giggled quietly.

Ron blinked over at the girl leading him. “Harry?”

“Oh! You didn’t hear! Right, when you and I were having our schism, I bought the Daily Prophet and then gave it to Karina Zabini. She and Sirius now own the paper, and if Skeeter writes anything they don’t want her to write, then she can be blacklisted by them, the owners, easily for disobeying their orders.” Harry shot him an impish grin. “Tidy right?”

Ron was still grappling with  _ buying the paper. _ “Uh, yeah. Tidy. Let’s, let’s go up to the owlery and tell the fam about the news!” He smiled at her earnestly, and Harry nodded with a grin.

She met up with Tom in the entrance. There was a smirk on his face. “Think you should open this at that Gryffindor party, Harry. Multiple heads are better than two, after all.” Ron was chattering beside her, so Harry missed the little grin that should have tipped her off Tom was pranking her.

At the party, she found out why he had given the screaming egg to her. Slamming the lid shut again, she inhaled. “Okay then. What was that?”

“Banshee?”

“Werewolf in pain?”

The suggestions were getting more and more outlandish by the second. But it was soon time for Harry to go to bed. 

“Death?” She slipped through the veil and looked at her teacher. He frowned and studied his scythe. 

“I don’t know. It’s…strange. I have never heard that sound before in my life. You can count off any undead creature or being of the Underworld. Or any that I would come across in my soul collecting.”

“That’s nearly everything! How come it doesn’t make it any easier?!” She scowled but sighed.

The next morning however, she marched up to Tom and sat down at his side. “Ha bloody ha.” He grinned at her. 

“I thought partners were supposed to share everything.”

“Even deafness and headaches?”

Tom winked at her. “Yep.” Harry noticed his hand slipping forward to wrap around her waist. 

She jumped off the bench and hummed. “What do you reckon it was?”

Looking up from his food, Blaise frowned. “Sounded like one of those sea nymphs. You know? The ones who look all beautiful and then transform and snarl at you. It sounded like one of those who had just been denied a meal. Maybe you have to fight underwater?”

Harry shivered at that. “Hate the water.” 

Looking up, Tom gave her a worried frown. “Why?”

“Oh, nothing!” She gave them a cheerful smile and then popped away. Tom exhaled and shook his head.

“It’s not nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> And thanks for reading!  
> Ink...


	12. Tom is Scheming Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like it says on the tin. Tom schemes. Gellert schemes.   
> Poor grey witch Harry is surrounded by dark wizards.  
> MUAHAHAHA!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks much for all the comments! I'm glad that this series is so popular!   
> A little note about book seven. I'm making progress. Yay! Book seven is about the war, but unlike Rowling, I fully intend to write battle scenes and duels and such. I promise I will try my best to make it both entertaining and believable. (as much as a story about magic can be believable)  
> Thank you so much for reading and commenting!   
> Your feedback is what keeps me going. ; D  
> Ink...

Fiddling with his fork, Draco glanced at Theo and then spoke quietly. “Tom, I wanted you to know that my father received a letter, rich paper with a seal. He took one look at it and paled, like it might bite him.” Draco looked pale too.

Focusing on Tom, Theo nodded. “My father and mother received one too.”

“Mine too.” Blaise chuckled. “However, Mother simply burnt the letter without opening it, scraped the ashes into another envelope and returned it to the sender.” He smirked darkly. The other students gaped at him in shock.

“She’s not afraid of pissing him off?!”

“Who? What was the seal?” Tom leaned forward impatiently. 

Blinking, Draco nodded. “Oh, right. You live with a Light Family. It was the seal of Grindelwald. A circle within a triangle with a line going straight through the whole thing, top to bottom.” Draco drew it out gingerly as if the mark would come alive and choke him. 

“Like the scar on Harry’s wrist?” Tom lightly touched the drawing and then hummed. “I can see why Karina burned that letter.”

“What was it?” Daphne looked at her fellows. Her mother hadn’t gotten one. They weren’t from a powerful family.

“An alert from Grindelwald. It’s to inform the recipient that he is active again and to await further instructions.” Draco glanced at Theo and then around the table at the other students. “Many Slytherin families served Grindelwald during the previous wars. The war back in the forties  _ and _ the war in the seventies. My great-grandfather and grandfather served Grindelwald and then my father, now it’s my turn.” Draco’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “Mother wanted to hide me away, to flee the country, but that wouldn’t work.”

“What do you mean? Why not?” Tom raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure your mother is very resourceful when she wants to be.”

Theo laughed miserably. “Grindelwald has rekindled his alliances with Magical Governments in Russia, China, Japan, Germany, Norway, Brazil, and Austria. He’s not hiding to those who know where to look. The Ministry of Magic in England is blind. Fudge will be our downfall!”

Blaise huffed. “He’s currently working on France and Italy now. Once England falls, he’ll go after America. He’s calling in favors and debts and re-igniting his old propaganda. You see, most of the time people promise one thing and then they get brought down and the followers get nothing but broken promises.” He waved his fork slightly. “Not so with Grindelwald. If he promised you wealth, then you got thousands of galleons. Fame? You became a rock star, as the Muggles would say. He keeps his promises, even when he was defeated before, all his followers were able to keep their wealth, if they were smart about it. That’s why he has so many loyal followers. He doesn’t work much with fear. He knows human greed and their psychology. He’s a master at manipulation and extortion.” Blaise shook his head. “He  _ brainwashes _ you to worship him.”

Tom pointed at Draco with his knife. “But why is your father  _ so _ afraid?”

Looking down, Draco exhaled. “Because I support you, and you support Harriet Potter, who in turn supports Albus Dumbledore. Both are enemies of Grindelwald. If he returns into the service of Grindelwald’s army, then eventually, he will be forced to fight his own son and sole heir. I will not leave your side, and he cannot leave Grindelwald’s.” Draco closed his eyes and shook his head. “Tom, I’m sorry, but you’re no longer safe to come to my home. You are Harry’s second in command, her advisor. Her partner. Grindelwald will want you dead to cripple her. Either that, or turned to his side of thinking.”

Leaning back, Tom closed his eyes and thought it through. “How can he be doing this from his tower cell? Has anyone actually  _ seen _ him? Who is able to get in contact with him?”

“No one.” Blaise looked up at Tom. “Harry would know. Dumbledore would know too.”

“Then he’s obviously compromised the Aurors watching him.” Drumming his fingers on the table, Tom glowered at his plate and then glanced over at Harry. She was laughing and grinning as she told Ron something or other. “Draco, I want you to join your father.”

“WHAT?!!”

Tom grinned at him darkly. “I want you to join and become a spy. For me.”

“But- but-”

“Your father will take you under his wing. We’ll stage a fight in your home. You’ll insult Harry or something. Something I could never forgive. You’re lost without my control, and if your father is any kind of Slytherin that I know him to be, he’ll swoop in and lead you to go over to Grindelwald. That way, I have an ear in every camp. Harry will be in the thick of it with Dumbledore, even if I’m not trusted. Dumbledore doesn’t tell me anything, but she’ll tell me everything, and if not me directly, then she’ll tell Blaise, who will then tell me. Draco, I want you to find out everything you can, become unobtrusive, don’t be scared. You don’t need to be scared. You’ve always been a good actor.” He smiled at the blond boy.

Nodding resolutely, Draco inhaled slowly and then exhaled. “Alright Tom.”

“Good. We’ll stage the fight during break sometime. Try and think up something that would make me furious to the point of no forgiveness.” They returned to their meal. Draco glanced at Harry and then pursed his lips in thought.

~two days later~

Grindelwald chuckled softly as he watched the French Minister wine and dine with a woman who was not his wife. 

Dabbing at his mouth, he stood, checked his glamour, and then left the fancy restaurant, grabbing his cloak along the way out.

A few hours later, the French Minister took his cloak and frowned when something crinkled inside. He drew out what looked to be like an ordinary, white envelope of expensive parchment paper. Turning it over, he inhaled in a choke. The seal was the Mark of Grindelwald!

He dropped his mistress off quickly, he kissed her goodbye and then rushed to his home and straight to his fireplace, but he passed out and died before he could even call out to Dumbledore. The poisoned champaign did its work well.

Madam Gina Trosou smiled and sent a letter by floo to the Crouch Manor. Her mark was dead. The job for the Minister of France was now open.

At the manor, the fire lit up and Gellert smiled. He hummed and looked at the letter from Gina before chuckling. “Excellent work.” He looked up at his owl and then wrote a letter to Monsieur Pierre Talbot, stating that he was now clear to advance. 

Turning around, Gellert studied the map and laughed softly. He was now in control of the main magical countries except Greece, Hong Kong, the whole continent of Africa, Spain, Switzerland, India, America, and England. Italy had just succumbed a few minutes before France fell. The moment he grabbed England and America, all the other countries would fall into place. But that meant, he would have to deal with Albus and Harriet. 

“Perhaps it’s time that the Ministry knows about what their sweet angelic Girl Who Lived has been up to? Or should I make her sweat more?” He grinned smugly. “Oh, how I do love the silent war.” He laughed gently and then closed his eyes and sensed through his dormant bond that Albus was asleep. Humming, he sank himself into Albus’ dreams, weaving his own dreams into his lover’s. 

~December~

Harry shivered as Hagrid led his class into the forest and then through the forest and past the forest. She blinked. 

“Um, Hagrid?”

“I’ve gotten permission from yer families via Headmaster Dumbledore, and from yer heads of house and from yer other teachers. The rest of the day will be spent in the mountains. There’s somethin I’ve been wantin ter show yer all for a while now.” He grinned at them and then doubled his pace. 

Harry fell back in step with Tom and his group and her two friends. Ron poked Hermione. “Please?”

Huffing, the girl grabbed her metal water bottle and passed it around. When it was empty, she filled it with blue flames. The metal warmed up and they started passing it around their small group as they climbed up the mountain.

“Are you going to march us to our deaths?! Why couldn’t we take the bloody carriages?!” Pansy grunted and rolled her eyes.

Harry glanced over at the Durmstrang students who were following. “Hagrid? Why are you taking the guest students along also?” She noticed the Beauxbaton students lagging slightly behind, and so she snuck a little energy from the Earth into their souls. It was more to practice doing it without people noticing than actually wanting to help them. They seemed to perk up and walk faster. Harry grinned at her success and focused front again.

Chuckling, Hagrid easily stepped over a fallen oak tree while everyone else climbed or circumnavigated it. “Cause they were interested, and I was only gonna do this for one class. Too many visits in one day will upset the creatures I’m gonna show you.” He winked at them and then continued on. “Not long now. Just around the bend.”

Rolling his eyes, Draco winced at a muscle cramp. “It was ‘just around the bend’ seven bends ago!” Blaise grunted and had to admit cardio was not his thing.

Harry smirked at them and then winced as she felt a slight stitch in her side. 

“Hm…perhaps, I should start training you in gym.”

_ ‘Shut the hell up! You’re floating! You are not one to talk, Than!’ _ She glowered at Death’s smirking git of a face and then turned back to her hiking when she almost trip over a root and killed herself and Hermione.

Greene was suddenly there and helped catch her. He smiled at her. “Careful, Miss Potter.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and then nodded. “Thanks.” 

Shooting the student a suspicious look, Tom waved his wand slightly but couldn’t find any hexes or such on her that would inhibit her abilities in the tournament.

Greene smirked and tipped his hand from his forehead in a mocking salute to Tom. Tom flipped him off and then turned away. Theo and Draco kept an eye on the older boy just in case he tried anything against Tom. 

They were just about to revolt and call a halt of their own when Hagrid waved them over. “Here! Quiet now! They’re sleeping. Don’t wanna startle ‘em.” He grinned as they crept closer. Hagrid grabbed Draco and Ron and guided the boys over to the stone boulder. He helped them stand on his knees as Hagrid crouched.  With the added boost, they could peak over the stone boulder and see clearly on the other side. Draco cursed in awe just when Ron inhaled in shock.

“Amazing…” Draco blinked rapidly. “They’re beautiful…” He turned and smirked at Tom. “Worth the hike.”

Tom motioned for him to get down and let him see. Draco sighed but obeyed. Harry followed Ron and stepped up beside Tom. She gasped and stared at the mighty family of griffins. 

The male was two times larger than a thestral with the wingspan of twenty-five feet. The male’s head reached Hagrid’s shoulders, dwarfing herself and her companions. His beak was the size of her chest. His tail was…about as thick as Hagrid’s leg and as long as Hagrid.

“Awesome…” Tom quickly pointed to the sleeping infants. “Must have just hatched.”

“Tha's right, Tom.” Hagrid spoke softly to the rest of the class. “What you’ll see over on tha other side is a rare griffin nest. They nest way high up in tha mountains, like eagles, and give birth to eggs instead of live young. Tha eggs crack about a year after bein laid. Tha young are then ready to eat solid foods and meat, but they supplement with their mother’s milk. Tha griffins mate for life and if their mate dies, then they are known to die days after. Tha longest has been about a month.” Hagrid kept the students rotating as he spoke to the class.

Tom got an idea and grinned as he started flying just high enough to see over the boulder. 

“Oh come on! That’s cheating!” Ron’s hissing whisper was full of outrage. Tom just smirked down at him.

Harry gave him a pout that he snorted at but lowered long enough for her climb onto his back and hover with him. Hermione had climbed a tree, starting the trend for the more open minded students who didn’t mind getting dirty.

“Tha thing about griffins is that if you manage to save a life of one, yer friends with them for life.” Hagrid smiled fondly at the beasts. “They are fiercely loyal and even if they manage to save you, they will continue to do it again and again and again. Tha’s why Godric Gryffindor took his name after them.”

“He wasn’t born with it?” Theo looked up in surprise. 

“Nope. There is a tale that his father was a griffin breeder, but tha’s not true. He saw tha mighty griffin in the sky during tha war with Morgana and took tha name as his own.” Hagrid made sure all the guest students had been able to get a good long look at the nest before standing up and smiling wide at them. “Now, who thinks they can coax one to let them have a ride?”

All the students’ eyes went wide at this. Slowly, Greene stepped over, eyes glittering. “I wish to try.”

Tom shook his head at Hagrid’s questioning look. He wasn’t going anywhere near the familiar of his ancestor’s adversary. Nope.

Harry was beaming as she stepped closer. “I want to try too.”

Draco was of the same mind as Tom, in fact, nearly all the Slytherins were in agreement. Superstitious, but safe.

Hagrid chuckled at the divide. “All tha Lions but no Snakes, eh? Very well then. Harry and Greene go first. Fraid you’ll have to ride together cause tha female is pregnant again and tha kits are too young to fly alone.”

Greene stared at her and then nodded. She nodded back. 

“Now, what you’ve got to do is be gentle and quiet at first.” Hagrid stepped closer with them and then stilled when the male noticed them. “Eye contact. Griffins are slight empaths, low level. They can tell ill intent.”

The male moved over to Harry, sniffed her and then sniffed Greene. He tilted his head and then trilled lowly at them.

“Well I’ll be. He’s accepted both of you. No need to impress him! Climb on, careful of the feathers now, don’t bend them the wrong way. Hold on tight and away you go!”

Harry gasped as the griffin launched into the sky. She held onto his neck as she felt Greene wrap his arms around her waist. 

She closed her eyes and sighed. “If only I had wings.”

“Then I could fly above all the terror and sickness of the world.” Gerald’s voice was right behind her right ear. Harry stilled for a moment, and then she laughed.

“Corruption and greed, yes.”

“Of whom?”

“The governments.” She reached out and smoothed the feathers of the griffin, enjoying the sensation. “The governments, Grindelwald, the purebloods. Anyone who doesn’t understand that magic is neutral. It’s a force of nature. They want to only see the monetary or strategic value in something. A Pureblood sees a House Elf as a status symbol. A Ministry official sees a House Elf as a mindless servant. Grindelwald sees a House Elf as a tool.”

“And what do you see one as?”

She thought about Dobby and smiled fondly. “A friend. There is value in everything and everyone.”

Humming, Greene chuckled. “I never really thought about it before, but you, Miss Potter, are a general in training.”

“I beg your pardon?!” She twisted around and stared at him. He snorted and then looked down when the griffin moved around to land again. 

“Looks like our ride is done.”

“Pity.”

He climbed off and then helped her down too. 

Several more students flew on the griffin’s back, and when they returned to the castle, everyone was stiff, cold, hungry, and tired.

And they had never had a better Magical Creatures class.

And boy were the other classes jealous. Ron was preening in front of his brothers for days!

~the next day~

After another class of Trelawney telling her about her future death, Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron as she walked down the hall with him. “You know, if Professor Trelawney saw Death’s true form in that globe of hers, then she’s be even madder than she already is. Plus, she’d be a cinder.” She giggled at that thought and then dashed off for lunch.

Blinking after her, Ron shook his head slowly. “March Hare Harry is back.” He sighed and then followed after her.

That night, Harry leaned her head back and tried to forget everything that happened that day with Hermione and S.P.E.W. and finding Winky and finding out that House Elf souls could be protected from her too. She tried to forget about how Dobby and Hermione were joining up together and spouting talk that sounded dangerously similar to Grindelwald’s theories. 

She wasn’t going to think about it right now. She’d solve Winky’s problem and secrets later. Not now.

Instead, she focused on rejuvenating herself in the world of the dead. Closing her eyes, she exhaled slowly and then inhaled just as slowly. Exhale.

Inhale.

“Harriet.”

“Hmm?” Cracking an eye open, she tilted her head to the side to see Death standing over her from behind. “Yeah?”

“I have something for you. Something that you might find disturbing or wonderful.” He smiled at her and shrugged. “Your emotions are still quite human, so I can’t really gauge what your reaction will be like.”

Popping up off the sofa, she twisted around, pressing her knees into the cushions and digging her elbows into the top of the back’s cushions. “What’s going on?” Her green eyes were alight with curiosity. 

Smiling wider, he drew out a long scythe with an ivory handle and black steel blade. The blade was curved in the usual fashion and looked to be around five feet if straightened out, but was four feet when curved. The ivory handle was carved delicately and intricately with different scenes of death depicted on it. The handle was about six feet long.

“It’s quite heavy, but your strength will increase over time, and you’ll be able to control it easily with enough with practice.”

Harry stared at it and then at Death. “But I don’t…will you teach me how to use it?!”

He chuckled softly and nodded. “Of course. I think it’s time the Apprentice of Death got a scythe, don’t you?”

Her green eyes widened, and then she jumped over the sofa and pulled Death into a tight hug. “Thank you.”

Thanatos blinked down at her and then smiled softly, fondly. It had been a while since her last hug. Smoothing her hair, he crooned under his breath. “I know you’re stressed about this tournament, but I think it’s time you spent a restful relaxing time with someone who knows all your secrets.”

“Okay. What do you want to do?” She smiled at him.

Drawing back, Thanatos thought about it and then chuckled. “Let me show you one of the last strongholds of Necromancy. It’s in Nepal, in the mountains where the Ministries can’t touch.” He winked at her, and then took her hand and guided her away. Harry smiled at him eagerly as they appeared in the chilly village.


	13. Death and Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes to the last stronghold of Necromancy, and then she returns to the peaceful, angst-filled school of Hogwarts.  
> Joy and rapture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! Just to let you guys know, I added that scene in with the temple visit because a few readers were interested in it.   
> Also, I will not be answering any questions concerning Death and Harry's conversation in the garden. That will come out in book five.   
> Enjoy!   
> Ink...

Opening her eyes, Harry looked at the building he had brought her to. She was standing with Death on the front steps of the temple. “What do you call this? Temple? Monastery?”

“Necromanteion or a monastery would be the closest thing you can call it.” Death looked around and then smiled when several people came out. Harry was surprised to see that they were mixed races. Not all of them were Nepali or races of the countries nearby. Some were clearly from countries in Europe, others from North and South America. One or two looked to be from Africa. “They are not practitioners.”

Frowning up at him, Harry turned and looked at the men and women bowing to Death. “Why?”

“They collect the knowledge and tomes and prepare it for future acolytes, hoping that there can be more Necromancers, but these people are non-Magicks. They have no magic. It’s because of this that the Ministries weren’t able to find them.”

Harry moved back a step when one woman bowed to her. “Can they understand English?”

“Yes. Quite of a few of them know five or more languages and all of them know English, Mandarin, and Hindi.”

Shamed, Harry nodded. “Right. Of course.” She looked at the woman and spoke clearly. “Please don’t.”

“Why shouldn’t we bow to you, Lady Apprentice?” The woman stood slowly and frowned at her in confusion.

“Because I’m not a goddess. I don’t deserve worship.” Harry looked at Death again, who laughed and waved the monks back and signaled them to stand up straight. 

“I deemed it time to show my apprentice your excellent work in preserving my magic.”

“Of course, my lord Death. This way!” The monk who was clearly the leader guided them inside the monastery. 

Eyes wide, Harry looked around. The face of the necromanteion wasn’t made of wood or brick but stone. It looked a lot like a Greek temple half-buried into the mountainside. The entrance was marked with four Greek-style pillars, and the steps were very similar to that of Greek styles. The entrance was actually one long hallway with a barrel-vaulted ceiling. There were small alcove-like shelves spaced evenly along the side of the hallway with green balls of fire. It cast an eerie glow

Death leaned over slightly. “That’s called Greek Fire. Dangerous if not handled properly. Impossible for mortals to extinguish.”

Swallowing, Harry looked at him. “How do I get the feeling that there’s a whole other world you aren’t telling me about? Are the gods the only things out there? Is there more-”

Exhaling, Death shook his head. “I can’t tell you about Blaise.”

Harry bit back her curiosity and exhaled before nodding once. “I understand. Will it affect my people?”

“No.”

“Alright then. I trust your guidance, Death.” 

Resting a hand on her shoulder, he gently squeezed and then nodded. “Thank you.”

They continued walking down the corridor before finally arriving at a regular wooden door. The leader opened it quickly for them, allowing them to enter first. Harry blinked. “Huh, the hinges don’t even squeak.”

Snorting, Death gave her a smile and then waved his hand and flicking on the lights. “They have electricity only in this room. There is a small generator that allows temperature regulation and electric lighting.”

“Because candles and fire are dangerous in a library. Check.” Harry stared at the treasure trove around her. Relics and crystals, books, maps, and even more bone daggers.

“These bone daggers are incredibly dangerous, as I have said before.” He picked one up and then showed it to her. “They are made from the bones of the most innocent of all victims who died in the most violent death possible.”

“What is that?”

“A child eaten alive.”

Harry recoiled away and backed into a wooden table. “That’s…I own a bone from a child?!”

“Squeamish?”

Her eyes flashed. “You said humans shouldn’t touch human remains, and this is turning them into _weapons._ ”

“I said sleep in human remains.” Death sat on the table across from her. “You didn’t let me finish. The bones of the child victim can only be used if the child’s ghost is brought forward. The Necromancer then asks for permission from the child to bless the bone to be turned into a blade. If the child says yes, then the ritual can be continued. But only if the child’s ghost blesses the Necromancer. That’s why these blades are so rare and so dangerous.”

“What makes them turn anything to ash?”

“Originally,” Death stood again and lifted a heavy tapestry forward. Harry saw colorful and artistic depictions of a group of people kneeling around a blue child figure. “Originally, this dagger was the only thing that could kill the wendigo that had eaten the child. Wendigos are former humans who went into cannibalism and couldn't stop eating humans. They lost their humanity and gained abilities that...make them nearly impossible to kill by mortal means. These bone daggers originated in North America. They didn’t come to Europe or Asia until the first of the Europeans came to North America. The non-Magick explorers thought they were simple knives.” Death snorted. “The daggers were sold and re-sold until they fell into the hands of a Magick. Then, the Necromancers discovered them and collected them.”

“Wait, the Native Americans-”

“Aren’t wizards or witches. They have magic users of their own. The same magic that you use, but they don’t channel it through spells or wands but through sand paintings and chanting, and music.” He smiled softly. “The Native Americans have Necromancers- not called that by them of course- but you know what I mean.”

“So I’m not the last Necromancer? My students aren’t the last?!” Harry’s look of elation faded to confusion when Death shook his head slowly.

“The Native Americans know much about death and my arts, but they are not my chosen. They are not _Necromancers_. They cannot perform Shadow Manipulation or Animation or Soul Magic. Harriet, Magic is varied and multi-faceted. It’s made that way because of different religions and cultures. A simple Lumos spell for you could be a powerful spell to say a Magical Community in the polar regions because of their long nights. The Native Americans have magic  _ variations _ you don’t know, and you have magic variations that they don’t know, but it’s all the same  _ energy _ . It’s all the same power. Every human has a soul that stores the same magic. However, every human culture taps into that magic differently. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” She slumped slightly. “It means that there are people who understand some of your magic, but I’m the only one who understands all your secrets. Necromancy truly is on the verge of extinction.”

“Well, it never will really go out until I do.” Death snorted. “And I don’t think I’ll be going out anytime soon.”

Harry looked at him worriedly. “Death…if you collect everyone in the end, even the gods, then who collect you?”

He looked grim. “I don’t know, Harriet. I really don’t know.”

Shivering, Harry turned back to the tapestry. “They’ve really kept it in good condition. When was this made?”

“Oh, I’d say about the 1400s.” 

Freezing in the act of touching it, Harry snapped her hand back and gaped at him. “What?!”

He snickered. “The original at least. This is a woven copy.” 

“You-!” Harry conjured a shadow pillow and bashed him on the shoulder with it. Death laughed, warm and full laughter spilling from him in a rare moment of levity. 

“I had you. Admit it.”

“No.” She turned away and then huffed out, “Maybe. Just a tiny bit.”

“Just a bit, yeah.” He smirked and then pulled her over to the next shelf. “These are crystals. Energy storage crystals. You can pour your magic inside them, store it and then use it when you have either worn yourself thin, or if you need an extra boost for a ritual that you’re about to perform.” He smiled brightly at her, blue eyes gleaming. “They were first created by accident when Merlin sneezed and a burst of power came from him and went straight into the crystal. Honest! I am not lying to you!”

Harry continued to look at him with doubt. “I’m going to double-check that with Merlin.”

Rolling his eyes, Death huffed. “Fine. Rowena Ravenclaw created them when she wanted to be armed even when she couldn’t wear her wand in public. During those days carrying your wand out in public was considered very improper.”

Harry thought about Tom’s joke at the wand ceremony. “It’s still considered indecent.”

Death frowned at her. “No, it’s not.” He looked so befuddled for a moment, that Harry couldn’t help her tiny giggle before she focused on the crystals. 

“What sorts of gems can be used?”

“Pure, precious stones with no flaws in them. They have to be at least a century old and cannot be cut by non-magick means. Most of these stones are goblin made.” Death shot a look at the door when a monk entered the room. 

“My lord, my lady, refreshments for you are in the sun garden.” He bowed again and swept out, not turning his back to them. 

“Do they have to be so…” Harry searched for a polite word.

Death sighed. “Be glad that we dropped in unannounced. They would have turned this place into a palace for you and worn their best robes with a feast fit for fifty people. When they were told that I had taken an Apprentice again, they had celebrated for a week.” Death set down the crystal and looked around the library. "We have all morning to explore the necromanteion. Let’s have some refreshments.”

“But you can’t-” Harry frowned when he shook his head.

“The food of the gods. Ambrosia and Nectar. The monks have quite a bit stored here just for me whenever I choose to visit them.”

“Do you come here often?” Harry nodded to two passing monks, who stopped and bowed and let them pass first before hurrying on their way. She still didn’t like the bowing.

“Many times when I have a free moment and when you are busy with the living.” Death waved his hand and opened the double iron-wrought gates that led them to the outside. “Magic has allowed this place to be temperate even in the mountains of the Himalayas.” He smiled when Harry gasped in awe. 

The entire top of the mountain was transformed into a fairy garden with purple, pink, orange, and red flowers. The grass was so green and thick it had to be helped along by magic. There were floating lights that were actually doing gardening. 

Harry frowned. “How-?”

“The other world.” Death didn’t explain further. Harry frowned but let it pass once more. She walked after him on the brown flagstone path between the beautiful hibiscus bushes. The insects buzzed around but didn’t bother her at all. There were bird fountains, but the statues on top of the fountains were dancing skeletons,  _ not cherubs _ . Death _hated_ cherubs.

Moving forward faster, Harry beamed at the beautiful spread on the black iron outdoor tables. The monk who stood beside her chair pulled out her chair for her and then pushed it in with almost reverence. However, Harry drew the line at them serving her. She could do it herself.

Death chuckled at her discomfort. Jerk.

Harry closed her eyes slowly and tilted her head. That was what was missing. “There are bird fountains but no birds.” Opening her eyes, she frowned at Death. “Why?”

“It’s just one of the idiosyncrasies of this place. The water fountains are mostly for the monks in meditation.”

“What do they meditate on?”

“They are memorizing all the knowledge in that library and passing it on to their own learners. They are there just in case the Ministry destroys everything. At least the knowledge will live on in their minds.”

Harry struggled not to drop her jaw. “But that library is bigger than the Black Vault!”

Smirking, Death sipped his nectar from the golden chalice studded with bloodred rubies. Harry picked up her own chalice filled with sweet wine. He spoke up quietly, “this is their life goal. Memorizing, preserving, and protecting the knowledge of the Necromancers are all they are living for. These monks embrace death, me, so much that they would kill themselves simply to experience the swift embrace of my reapers, if only for a moment.”

“Wait. The reapers were all once monks?”

“No, no.” Death snorted. “Grell was  _ certainly _ not a monk.” He cleared his throat and then looked at the rising sun over the snowcapped mountains. It was as though they were surrounded by diamonds coating the mountains around them.  Harry listened to him as she stared at the sky streaked with every hue of red and purple and blue.  “All my reapers are those who committed suicide, yes. It’s like squares and rectangles.”

“Huh?”

“Skip it.” Death waved his hand briefly before continuing. All the monks here will become my reapers, but my reapers include more than just the monks. When they grow to a certain age, they kill themselves and let the next generation take over. There is a sort of temple in the Underworld, the place of the Reapers if you will.”

Her mind boggled at being inside a place that held regular ritual suicide. Harry wondered what Hermione would say about all this. What Tom would say... Swallowing, she looked at the people meditating the garden beside theirs, it was filled with prisms and crystal wind chimes. Knowing that talking to Death about suicide being morally wrong wasn't going to get her anywhere, Harry skipped it and asked something else. “Why haven’t I seen it the house of the Reapers?” Harry frowned when Death spoke quickly. 

“You are my Apprentice, but you are not of the Underworld fully. You are not human, but you still human in mind.” 

She furrowed her brows. “I don’t understand.”

Sighing, Death leaned forward, set his cup down and took her hands in his. “Harriet, you are not a goddess. You are immortal, but you are not blessed. Certain places in the Underworld are still banned from you because your mind is still very much a human mind. You would go mad if you saw certain things. The Reapers are not human, not human in mind, and not human in endurance or body. You are my Mistress and Apprentice, and though your body would withstand anything of the Underworld, your mind would not. Do you understand now?”

“Yes…?” Harry sagged slightly. “I still have a lot to learn.”

“Yes, you do, but you are learning exceptionally quickly.” Death picked up his chalice again. “Now, tell me about this plan of yours. You only mentioned it briefly in passing back when Grindelwald first got his magic back from you.”

Harry smiled slowly at this. “I can’t explain it fully. Not yet. I still have a few kinks to iron out.”

“And what are those…kinks?” He raised a blond brow. 

“I need to find out what’s stopping Grindelwald from telling all my secrets, and I need to make sure that I have Albus’ full support. He’s already immortal for me, along with Aberforth, but I need to know exactly what his conditions are before I really start betting on this plan of mine. But when I’ve ironed out those issues, I’ll really start going to work. Right now, I’m just letting certain things happen.”

“Like allowing Grindelwald to continually escape?” Death exhaled. “I kept telling you to use a catcher-”

“I don’t want him fully imprisoned, Death.” Harry stared at him. “He’s still too useful.”

“Will you tell me everything you’ve got cooking in that mind of yours?”  Harry looked around at the monks. They weren’t eavesdropping, but they were certainly close enough to hear. Death sighed and then motioned for her to tell him mentally. When she did, he tilted his head.  “That’s certainly very ambitious of you. When did you decide on this?”

“When I saw him being taken to Albus’ office and then taken away by Fudge. It was cemented in my mind when Sirius told me that I should clean up my mistakes.”

Death looked intrigued and doubtful. “This is cleaning them up?”

“Believe me, Death, if this falls through, then I will spend the next hundred centuries fixing my mistakes, but I have to see if this can work!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll allow this.” He smirked suddenly. “Should be very interesting to watch.” Harry smiled at him.

“Funny, I thought the same thing.”

They shared a laugh and then toasted each other with their drinks before relaxing and talking about other things.

~the next day~

Harry exhaled slowly and looked at Tom as he entered the library. The Slytherin boy glanced once at Krum and then rolled his eyes before sitting beside Harry. 

“Hasn’t Hermione noticed he’s got doe eyes for her?”

“Hermione doesn’t notice anything if it doesn’t have large eyes, long ears, and a pillowcase for clothes,  _ or _ pages and a hardcover,” Harry grunted and smuggled another bite of her donut behind Pince’s back. She had to rush breakfast to get her work done.

Tom frowned. “How the devil did you get sunburned overnight?”

“Erm…” She looked down at herself and then thought about how to tell him this without telling him everything. “Umm…well, you know about Death being my teacher.” He narrowed his eyes and nodded. She cleared her throat. “And well, you also know that I can travel anywhere.” She sighed. “I went to Nepal with him last night on a field trip. He was showing me around this temple where the monks worship and serve Death and continue the art of Necromancy. Apparently, it’s the last stronghold of Necromancy still active in this world. The monks themselves aren’t Necromancers, but they protect the teachings of Death.”  She rolled her eyes and decided not to tell Tom about her scythe. He got jealous easily. 

Tom stared at her and then exhaled. “You’d better take me along next time. And I heard from Hermione that everyone’s got to see the Underworld except me. I want in.” He crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at her.

Blinking up at him, Harry slowly nodded and then gave him a wide childlike smile. “Do you want to visit or take up a permanent residence?”

“Screw you too, Pet.”

“I’m not your pet! That’s Nagini’s job!” Harry winced at Pince’s hissing shush. They had only just now gotten back into the old lady's good graces, but only through Tom's flattery.

Tom covered his grin with his hand. “Fine, fine. Shall I call you Love? Honey? Sweetums?” They both made a face at that one.

Harry pulled out her wand and smiled at him sweetly. “I’ll skin you and turn your flesh into a nice coat.”

“You say the loveliest things, Harriet, my love.” He winked at her and then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Now, when will you start training me?”

“No.”

“Why?” He stared at her intently. 

Exhaling, Harry closed her eyes and then spoke softly. “I will train you in how to protect your soul, but Tom, power is your weakness. Can you prove to me that you would not become like Morgana if given the chance?”

He stared at her, dark eyes swallowing her image and then he pulled his arm away. “Lack of Trust. Lack of Love. Your relatives and _Death_ really have done a number on you, Harry.” With a neutral expression, he absently kissed her forehead and then left the library.

She stared at her hands resting on the tabletop. 

~later that day~

“Potter- a word, if you please.”

Assuming that this had something to do with her shadow puppets imitating Parvati and Lavender and making Ron crack up laughing, Harry proceeded to the teacher’s desk with a put upon sigh. Professor McGonagall waited until the rest of the class had gone, and then said, “Potter, the champions and their partners-”

“What partners?!” Harry swallowed. She had known there were going to be dates and dancing, but she didn’t know that being a champion made it mandatory for her to have a date. Her green eyes went wide at that.  _ Shit _ .

Professor McGonagall looked at her intently and then deemed her being serious about her ignorance. “Your partners for the Yule Ball, Miss Potter. Your  _ dance partners. _ ”

“Shit.” 

“Language!”

Harry winced and then bit her lip. The timing of this was not great. She was becoming beautiful. She would become  _ inundated _ with requests, and Tom would become churlish and hard to get along with. Harry could see it all now. Some heads might even roll...

McGonagall leaned forward, lowering her voice. “And do not think for one moment you can simply vanish for that night through those shadows of yours. You are going to dance, Miss Potter.”

_ Right, she knows _ . Harry huffed and gave her a look. “Forgot you knew about that.”

“How did you learn about that form of magic in the first place?” 

"Professor, I like you. A lot. But even if I like you and trust you, I'm not going to tell you _all_ my secrets. That would make things boring!" Giving her a sweet smile, Harry twirled a lock of hair around her ear and giggled before vanishing through the shadows and appearing in an abandoned hallway. 

She quickly made her way to the next class, shaking her head when her friends tried to get her to tell them what was happening to make her frown so much. She'd tell them after class if she had the time.  _ I guess I could simply pick a name out of a hat, but that boy would be cursed to experience Tom’s wrath for weeks afterwards. Even to a complete stranger, I couldn’t do that. I could go with Hermione, but she will probably be asked by either Ron or Krum. Either way, I don’t want to get involved in that love triangle. Asking Tom would only encourage him further in this farce of a romance he’s cooking up in his head. _

Sighing, Harry slumped against her desk and rubbed her eyes. Fighting dragons was easier than juggling the politics of her friends.  Not trusting Hermione to give her the time of day over this problem, Harry pulled Ron aside just before lights out and told him her issue.  “If I choose one boy, then Tom will skin him. If I choose Tom, then he’ll never let me live it down.”

“Well, go out with me then.” Ron shrugged and gave her a grin. “Saves me the trouble of asking a girl I don’t know, and it saves you hell, because Tom isn’t threatened by me taking you away from him.”

Harry blinked at him and then laughed before hugging him tightly. “Excellent! And you have those robes too! This night suddenly doesn’t seem like the end of the world anymore.”

Laughing, Ron shook his head. “You overdramatize things too often, Harry.” He gave her a hug and then went off to his dorm. 

Smiling, Harry made her way to her dorm and then faltered. Hermione had a crush on Ron. Would she understand that this was just a friend going with a friend? Snorting, Harry rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Of course she will.”

~the next day~

Harry grinned as Hagrid told her about Skeeter’s attempt at digging into some dirt on her life. Luckily, Hagrid hadn’t told her what the reporter had wanted to know. She continued cutting up the dragon livers and then looked up at him when he asked her about the ball.

“You’ll be openin’ the dancin’, won’ yeh, Harry? Who’re you takin’?”

Ron spoke up before she could. “Me. Decided it would be least messy that way. Tom won’t get pissed off, and I’ve got no one else to ask. Asking girls is freaky. They always travel around in packs!” He shook his head and continued preparing the food. 

Harry looked over at Hermione, but she couldn’t see through her friend’s curtain of hair. Frowning in concern, Harry pulled off her gloves and tried to reach for Hermione’s hand, but the other girl pulled away and cheerfully stated in false happiness that she was going to try and feed her stuff to the skrewts. Yes, Hagrid had gotten his way and they were taking care of a new shipment of Blast-Ended Skrewts, but he would show them pegasi tomorrow, so everything was fine. Didn't mean Draco had stopped grumbling though.

Ron continued talking to Hagrid, oblivious to Hermione’s distress. Harry grabbed her own bowl and went after her friend. 

“Hermione, I hope you know that I’m not trying to steal Ron. You didn’t plan on asking him, and frankly he’s as thick as a board when it comes to love. He’ll come around, but you might have to slam his head into the stone walls of Hogwarts to get the message through.”

Hermione vented a sad laugh. “I know. He’s just a boy still, immature and rude…but I dreamed…”

“Sorry. I could tell him to go out with you-”

“No! Then you’d be without a date again! I can’t do that. No, I’ll go with someone else. I’m sure I can ask one of Tom’s friends.”

Harry looked over at Theo Nott and nudged her. “Nott maybe?”

Blushing, Hermione shook her head. “No way. He’s out of my league. Breeding. Blood. And looks. And besides, he’s a Slytherin of a purist family. I couldn’t-”

“He’s coming this way.” Harry grinned. Hermione squeaked and ran off. Theo faltered and then frowned but continued to come over. 

“Is something wrong with Hermione?”

“Yeah. She got an attack of nerves. Either that or a skrewt got her.” Harry rolled her eyes and then turned to him. “What’s up?”

Theo sighed. “Just wanted to warn you that Tom’s gonna ask you to the ball. Blaise told me to warn you, but didn’t want Tom pissed at him for warning you himself.”

“Ah, I already knew he would. Do you have an estimated time?” 

“Tonight, and publically.”

“Shit. Thanks for the heads up.” Harry hurried over to where Tom was. “Hey Snake Fang. Listen up, I’ve already teamed up with Ronnikins so don’t go asking me in public.” She slumped beside him. “Ron is like my brother. It’s the safest thing for me. Don’t mean we can’t dance together though. He’s my date, but let’s be honest, he’s probably gonna go and do belching contests with the other dateless boys. You can dance when he’s gone.” He lifted an eyebrow at Harry and then exhaled.

“You certainly play things safe.”

“Have to. Now if you excuse me, I’m gonna have to matchmake your lackey with my friend.” Harry smiled winningly at Theo and pulled him off to where Hermione was, but faltered when she saw Hermione staring at Krum in shock. The boy had used his break time to hunt down Hermione. He had dragged his friends with him too.

Greene was watching with amusement and wandered over to where she was. Theo slipped away. “He asked her.”

“Wow. Didn’t think he had it in him.”

Laughing now, Greene shook his head. “He’s only bold on a broom. Speaking of asking, do you want to go with me?”

“Already accepted Ron Weasley. Sorry.” 

Shrugging, Greene sighed. “I suppose I’ll ask someone else then, or go stag. It’s no matter.” He wandered off to talk with another boy from Durmstrang. Harry was just glad Tom hadn't heard him ask her. She didn't need a headache like that. Slowly, Harry eyed Ron and then turned and looked back at a blushing Hermione. 

_ Scratch that. I don't need another headache. I'll already be dealing with this one. _ _Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you liked. ; D  
> Thanks for reading and thank you for leaving comments!  
> Ink...


	14. Pure of Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry figures out the egg mystery with Lily's help, and then she also solves another mystery that no one knew was a mystery until now.   
> Tom goes into shock, and a fragile friendship is formed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHHH! Thanks to HumbleInternetUser for reminding me!   
> Guys, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot to upload a chapter because my niece was over and I had to take care of her (she's learning to walk now and my place isn't baby proof! AHHH!).   
> Here's the chapter with my apologies!  
> Ink...

As time went by, Christmas started coming closer and closer and so did the ball. Ron, now with a date secure, was much more relaxed about life, even though they did have a potions test about poisons coming up.  Harry stretched her neck and sighed. Snape was being particularly harsh lately because Moody was getting on his last nerve. Also, Sirius was coming to Hogwarts as a chaperone for the ball. Hogwarts had been Snape’s stronghold for a long while. To have another, the most hated, Marauder come back was the stuff of his nightmares.

Turning back to her book, Harry barely batted an eye when Ron’s card castle exploded. She gave Hermione a look when the girl started harping on her egg.

“Well, I’ve narrowed down greatly what it’s  _ not _ .” She turned another page of her book. “It’s Tom’s turn to do research on it, provided Nagini doesn’t swallow it.” Ron snorted and shook his head.

“She ate five of the gnomes in the yard, did you know?” Ron smiled. “Once, it was Tom’s turn to de-gnome the yard, and he simply set Nagini on them. He’s raking in a lot of gold from the twins. They’re paying him to do their turn at de-gnoming. Can you believe it?” Ron shook his head sagely. “Laziness is a vice for those two.”

Hermione scoffed. “If  _ you _ had the money, then you’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Ron cheerfully ignored her and re-grew his eyebrows. His brothers arrived just in time to see him before the spell though.

Rolling her eyes, Harry stood up. “Well, if you won’t tell Ron what you want his owl for, then why do you expect him to lend him to you?”

Ron nodded quickly. “Yeah! What she said! So there!”

“Who are you? His lawyer?” Fred looked supremely unimpressed.

Giving them a swiftly blown kiss, Harry danced upstairs to get ready for her potions test. Unlike Hermione, she couldn’t concentrate very well with her two friends griping and sniping at each other. In the silence of the Underworld, however, she could study easily. On a whim, she took the egg with her. Tom had dropped it off with Ginny.

Death appeared the moment she arrived. He summoned a chessboard and looked at her expectantly. Harry smiled and dumped her books and egg and sat across from him. 

Her parents floated in, and Death gave them an exasperated look. “With how often you to leave the area for spirits and ghosts who died heroically in warfare, I think you should get a year long pass.  _ If  _ they existed.”

James grinned and winked at the being. “Ah, you know. Skills.”

“Is that the golden egg mystery you have to crack?” Lily smirked at her daughter.

“Ha bloody ha. Yeah, it is. Haven’t made much progress. Tom and I think it’s supposed to sound differently under a certain spell, but we haven’t found anything that works yet.”

Lily frowned and then motioned for her to open it. The screeching nearly blew out the windows. Harry quickly closed it again and looked at her parents. “Well?”

Shaking his head in confusion, James snorted. “I have never heard that noise before in my life, and I hope I never will again.” He rubbed at his ears.

“I have!” Lily was beaming, ecstatic that she could help her little girl. “When I was a first year, I heard that there were mermaids in the lake. Of course, being raised with a Muggle background, I thought this was fantastic.” She huffed and crossed her arms. “Little did I know that their civilization was greatly hampered in growth by Ministry’s greedy ambitions, and they had become little more than savages who ate raw meat.” 

Harry raised an eyebrow and was suddenly glad that her mother had never met Hermione. 

Lily continued talking, oblivious to her daughter's realization. “I tried to talk with one, and they screeched at me exactly the same way.” Lily pointed to the golden egg. “That is the sound of a mermaid talking to you, or screaming at you. I don’t really know the difference.”

Harry stared at her egg and then frowned. “So, I just need to find a book that translates Mermish?”

“Apparently.” James shrugged.

Death grabbed Harry’s arm before she could dash off. “Wait. You promised me a game.” He was absolutely not pouting at her.

Laughing, Harry sat down again and started playing with Death.

~time passes~

Harry watched as several boys tried to ask Fleur out. She snorted and shook her head. That veela charm was making all the boys into morons. Some of the girls too were finding it hard to concentrate on other things while the veela was around.

Rolling her eyes, Harry stood up from her seat on the stone bench. She was wearing Muggle clothing today for a change since it was holiday. She was wearing long black tights, with heels, and a red tank top with a black leather jacket. Her hair was black with half of it braided along her scalp and down. The braids were colored an electric blue. Sirius had taken her shopping before school, and Hermione had helped her resize her clothing as best as she could. However, while she had been Muggle shopping, she saw several girls with different wild hairstyles, and she wanted to try them out.

She smiled at Fleur fleetingly, before walking past the Beauxbaton girls and boys. However, they called out to her. She paused and looked at them curiously. “Yes?”

“Why are you dressing so…odd?” A girl, Francis, looked at her funny.

Approaching them slowly, Harry smiled manically. “Because I  _ am _ odd.”

Fleur laughed. “You are not  _ odd _ . You are clever. Diz is a  _ show  _ you ‘ave put on to impress others. You are not really  _ mad _ .” Her eyes narrowed. “You use your mad _ ness  _ to cover up your dark magic!”

Eyeing the girl carefully, Harry wondered how she should react. She became exceedingly aware of her surroundings and who was within hearing distance. She noted immediately how many people she would need to wipe if this went sour.

“Fu…” Harry gripped her sides and started laughing. Fleur looked affronted. Good. Grabbing control of herself, Harry looked at them and grinned, hands resting on her knees. “My dear Fleur Delacour, you’re right. I’m no more mad than any other human being in this garden.” Her eyes gleamed knowingly. “But how much of a recommendation is  _ that _ I wonder? And all humans are dark, that’s why Dark Magic is so tempting. But honestly, you really should have figured it out by now. There is no true Dark Magic. Not really. Magic is pure, a force of nature that is not sentient.”

She rested her hands on her hips and smirked at the group in front of her. “The human magic user has a soul that is special in a way that other humans' souls, Muggles, are not. We can channel magic through our souls. If a Muggle tried to use magic via force or scientific means, then they would be burned out. Their bodies would turn into mere shells, mutations would spread faster than a blink, cancer would riddle the flesh. Muggles cannot use magic, because their souls are not made to harness the force called Magic.” 

Harry eyed them and then sighed. “I can see that my lecture is going way over your heads. Nevermind that then. What I’m saying is that once the magic is channeled through our souls, it becomes tainted and altered by how we use it. Dark intentions? Voila! The neutral magical energy goes through our souls and comes out Dark. Good intentions? Done. The neutral magical energy goes through our souls and comes out Light. You can use a Killing Curse and still be a completely Light Witch. So what you’re saying is complete trash. I am not a Dark Magic practitioner, because I have not used my magic to destroy or spread carnage or chaos. So there.” She winked at them and then did a cartwheel as she went away.

Lips curling in amusement, Krum chuckled and then looked at his friends, Greene and Ivan. “What do you think?”

Rubbing his chin, Ivan shrugged. “She does have a point. According to Dr. Clitterhausen’s studies on Muggles and Magic, their bodies do react badly to magic that is being forced to remain stored inside their souls. But this theory that channeling magic is affecting the magic status seems a bit far fetched.” He chuckled. “I wonder if she has any proof. She seems like a very knowledgeable girl for one so young.”

Humming, Greene nodded. “I wonder too.” He looked at the French students and smirked. “Look. Their world has been rocked. The Beauxbaton School is the lightest school there is, more light than even Hogwarts. I find it so strange. How can a person live like that?”

Krum gritted his teeth. “Did you hear about France falling? My cousin is in the Ministry there, as part of the late ambassador’s entourage, and he wrote to my family about it.”

“Durmstrang hasn’t changed, but I’m almost certain that Grindelwald has taken her.” Ivan sucked in his breath. “I fear for my father. He lost everything because Grindelwald was defeated last time. What if…” Ivan shook his head. “What if he’s forced to join? What if  _ I’m  _ forced to join? I need to take care of my little sister!”

Krum exhaled. “Calm down. My family is already fleeing to America. Canada has not fallen yet. Neither has Switzerland or England. Besides, right now is the silent war stage. We’ll be in true trouble when the fighting breaks out.”

Greene frowned. “You think there will be fighting?”

Grimly nodding, Krum exhaled. “Yes. Dumbledore will not allow his old rival to take the world. The MACUSA will not let Grindelwald win. Never. They helped stop him once. They’ll stop him again.”

All three boys nodded before forcing the grim topic to the back of their minds.

~meanwhile~

Dashing into the library, Harry wrapped her arms around Ron’s shoulders and then grinned over at Tom. “So! Find anything on the language?”

Tom groaned and shook his head. “I did a protection charm on my ears and listened to it all morning. Nothing. I can’t tell what the words are.” He rubbed his temples. “Nagini is pissed at me because I forgot to put a protection charm on her also.” He slumped his head against the tabletop.

“Well, have you at least finished break homework yet?”

“Yeah.”

Ron straightened under Harry’s weight. “Already?! You’re not human!”

Smirking, Tom rolled his eyes and stretched. “Whatever.”

Hermione poked her head out from behind one of her books and frowned at Tom. “Hey, Tom, I have a question. It’s been bugging me recently. You don’t look at all like your uncle.”

He barked a laugh and nodded. “Thank Merlin for that. No, I took my looks from my father’s side of the family. Muggle looks, but they surprisingly are quite pureblood of appearance. It will serve me well in the future.” He grinned at Harry and winked.

She snorted and then faltered and looked at Tom hard. “You got your looks from Muggles? But that’s…that’s impossible.” She swiftly walked around the table and studied Tom. “You couldn’t have gotten your looks from the Muggles.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “And why not? I saw my father. You did too. I look just like the bastard.”

Shaking her head, Harry bit her lip and tried to muddle through it. “But, if you look like Tom Riddle Senior, then that means your father…” She trailed off and inhaled slowly. “Tom, you’re not a Half Blood.” 

He frowned at her and straightened slowly, eyes narrowing. “And why do you say that?”

“Because during my training-” she faltered and looked at the students nearby. Lowering her voice she continued. “During my training with my mentor, I saw a memory, a really old memory. It contained the founders in their younger years. I saw Salazar Slytherin when he was twenty-eight or so. Tom, he looked  _ exactly _ like you. That means that the Gaunts and the Riddles descend from the same family. The Gaunts’ inherited the magic because they kept on breeding with magic, but the Riddles must have-”

“Married into the Muggles and Half Bloods and lost the magic but retained the intelligence and looks!” Hermione’s eyes were glowing with excitement. “Tom! Your mother reunited the two sides of the Slytherin family through  _ you _ !”

Looking very dazed, Tom swallowed and pressed his hands into the wooden table he was sitting at. “Is this why I’m so powerful? Why I was accepted by the bespelled snake?”

“It must be!” Ron was grinning. “Mate, you’re practically a Pureblood!” Suddenly, Ron faltered and leaned closer. “Mate, are you alright?” 

Tom jumped up and rushed out of the library, ignoring Pince’s hiss of reproach. Hermione frowned and ran after the boy before Harry could.  She found him shaking between two singing suits of armor. Hermione exhaled and whipped out her wand, canceling the spell to make them sing. “Be silent you two!” She then slowly approached Tom and sat down on the floor beside him. 

“Three years ago, I would have been overjoyed with the news but…” Tom exhaled and shook his head. “Now though…”

“Everything you do will be attributed to your blood, your family. Not to you. Not to your hard work. I know. That’s one of the reasons I’m not insulted when someone calls me a Mudblood. Everything I do, I do for myself. I create my own shadow.”

Tom stared at her in surprise and then nodded. “Right. You’re absolutely right. I wanted to create my  _ own _ shadow. The Gaunts had no influence in the Magical World. They were recluses, and I know the Riddles were Muggles, and so they didn’t have any influence on how I was seen, but…” He smashed his fist into his thigh and cursed. “Separate, they were controllable demons in my past. Half Blood is a safe zone, a neutral territory. I  _ liked _ it. But now that I’m a Pureblood…”

“Suddenly, you’ll be deluged with expectations. You are truly Salazar Slytherin’s heir. And everything he accomplished will be compared to what you can do, everything you’ve accomplished will be only furthering  _ his _ name instead of your own. If you become Minister, then you’ll be voted in because you are Slytherin’s child. Being his heir but a Half Blood kept things safe.”

Tom tilted his head back and pressed it against the wall. There was a bitter smile on his face. “Suddenly, Harry’s thirst for anonymity makes perfect sense.”

Chuckling, Hermione nodded. “I know. But Harry’s desire comes from a slightly different goal.”

“Yeah, to avoid being killed.” Tom rubbed his face. “Do you know everything?”

“Told me when I was in first year with her. I’m Muggle Born, so I didn’t have any fears.”

“I shouldn’t have either. I believed what I read over what Harry told me, and then I proceeded to waste two years of our friendship.” There was a dark look in his eyes. “Grindelwald took my first chance from me.”

“At least you know now.” Hermione smiled at him nervously. 

Shaking his head morosely, Tom rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, but I still get the feeling that I’m missing something. Harry doesn’t trust me. I know that. I kinda destroy what little trust she had when I forced her under the veritaserum. She’s not telling me everything.” He looked at her tiredly. “Do you think I could keep my full ancestry a secret?”

Pursing her lips, Hermione mused quietly. “Honestly? I don’t know. You might get away with it since everyone’s focused on the tournament and the ball, but you’re also a champion…Skeeter’s looking for gossip.”

“But she’s focusing on Harry.”

“She’ll take what she can sell, Tom.” Hermione curled her lip in disgust. “I hate that woman.”

He snorted and nodded before getting up and helping her up to. “You’re not so bad, Hermione.” She blushed slightly and smiled at him. 

“Thanks Tom. You aren’t horrible all the time either.” He gave her a look at that and then let it slide. It was true.

~days go by~

It was Christmas. Harry slipped through the veil and saw Dobby looking around her dorm room for her. She grinned and summoned the small bag of packages from Remus, Sirius, and herself. Sirius had balked slightly at buying a House Elf presents, but Remus had given him a look that made him quickly comply.

“Dobby.” Her voice was low. “Come out here so they can continue sleeping.” She guided the eager Elf to the hallway outside the door and then smiled at him. “Merry Christmas, Dobby.”

“Merry Christmas to Miss Potter also! Merry Christmas to the nicest witch on the world!” Tears brimmed in his eyes as she presented the presents to him. He hurriedly handed her his self made socks. Harry smiled and nodded to him, not really agreeing with his statement about her being the nicest witch in the world. It wasn’t true. She wasn’t, but she didn’t need to be. She only needed to be the strongest.

The door opened and Hermione grinned at Dobby. “Can you give these to the other Elves? I think they might like them.” There was a glint in her eyes, but Dobby only nodded quickly and took the bag full of items. He popped away soon after that.

“When are you going to give up?”

Hermione sniffed. “Never. I don’t quit that easily, Harry.” She went back into her room to change. She came back out with Lavender and Parvati in tow.

Shaking her head, Harry met the boys in the common room. There were a lot more people exchanging gifts this year because everyone fourth year and above had opted to stay for Christmas Break.

Making her way over to where Ron was, he had somehow nabbed a sofa for her and Hermione. Harry grinned and gave Hermione a huge box. She handed Ron an envelope and a package.

Hermione calmly opened her present while Ron tore his open. He went for the package first. “Woah!” His shout caught everyone’s attention. It was a really good quality invisibility cloak. The twins were instantly envious. Ron was already throwing it on and vanishing only to reappear and pull the chair out from under George as he was sitting down. The entire common room erupted into laughter. 

Meanwhile, Hermione was hugging Harry very tightly for giving her the complete seven book volume of the first edition of  _ Sir Gunther Nile’s Inventory of Magical Creatures and Their Creation. _ It was said to be the very best book, one that Newt Scamander based a lot of his work on. She already had Scamander’s book. This would complete her collection.

Ron turned back to his envelope, his head seemingly floating in air as he was still wearing the cloak itself. “YOU DIDN’T! HARRY I LOVE YOU!!”

After nearly squeezing the girl to death, Ron was jumping around the room waving the paper in the air. “Krum’s autograph!”

Fans of Krum were very envious. The boy from Durmstrang had made it clear that he was not going to give any autographs to anyone. Harry must have been an exception. When asked how she did it, Harry only grinned and winked at them.

After opening the excellent presents from Hagrid, Hermione, and the Weasley family, Harry stored them up in her room and then rushed down to meet Tom in the garden beside the Fawn Pool.


	15. The Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ball has come! And with it comes drama! Yay!

He blew into his gloves and then smiled at her. “Why here?”

She shrugged. “I wanted to give you something while no one would see.” Waving a hand around to their surroundings- they were completely alone- she smiled. “No one is around to eavesdrop.”

Laughing, Tom leaned back and looked at her. “And what do you want to give me that’s so secretive?”

She slid onto the bench beside him and pulled a small pin from her cloak’s pocket. It was a human hand pressed against the palm of a skeleton’s hand. She smiled and explained it to him. “I know you have the stone, but I wanted to give this to you also. You can bring back the soul of anyone dead for one hour. After that, it takes twenty-four hours to work again.”

Tom stared at it and then swallowed. “The ghosts have to come?”

“They will find it hard to resist.” Harry looked at him intently. “Tom, I’m trusting you with this. If you’re caught with it, then you’re toast.”

He nodded and then slipped it into his own pocket, smiling at her. “Thank you.” He pressed his lips against her cheek and then handed her a small, carefully wrapped package. It was rectangular in brown paper and string. 

Raising an eyebrow, she gave him a look at that and then started to open it. Within the silver and emerald jewelry box, she found a beautiful locket. The chain was silver and delicate. The locket itself was an inch and a half long and an inch wide. There was an  S  elegantly carved into the surface of the locket. The body of the locket was plain silver. The link that connected the locket to the chain looked like a winding snake, looping in on itself to hold the chain. The snake was so detailed in carving that Harry could see each individual scale. She stared at it in awe.

Tom smiled at her and then took her hands and brought the locket to his lips. He hissed a word to it and then it sprung open. Harry looked inside and gasped. On one side was a picture of her mother and father holding her as a baby, and the other side was a picture of her and Tom sharing a pretzel in the backyard of Sirius’ home.

Harry bit her lip and then pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you.”

He slipped his arms around her waist and held her against him. “You’re welcome, Harry.” He just needed to find the locket that Salazar Slytherin had worn. The one he gave to Harry was worn by Slytherin’s wife. He had found it in his family vaults. Vaults no one had opened since the Peverells’ days.

Their hug was interrupted by a snowball to Tom’s face. He jumped up and glowered at the innocently whistling twins. 

“You two think you’re so cute?! I’ve been ready for you all year!” He shouted a spell and suddenly the snow morphed and then formed into a hundred snowballs, hovering in the air. He grinned when the Weasley boys started running, yelling as they ran. With a smirk, he slung the balls in every needed direction, hitting his targets with stunning accuracy. 

Harry clapped her hands in delight. “Do it again!”

The others started shouting ‘NO! NO!’ Tom grinned and summoned more snowballs.

However, halfway through the fight, Hermione collected Harry, and they hurried upstairs to get ready.

A lot of the girls were doing so. 

Harry looked at her black hair and pursed her lips. She hadn’t really thought this out. Should she have it straight or curled? Humming, she spelled it to be kinky curls and wrapped into a tight bun except for a few locks of hair that were left to hang freely. She touched up her makeup, seeing nothing that needed to be changed too much. Deciding instead to change her lipstick, Harry put on a silvery gloss. 

She slipped on silver earrings and then put on her new silver locket. Smiling, she pulled her gown out of the closet, checking for wrinkles.

Parvati and Lavender gasped in tandem as they saw her dress for the first time. It was a halter spaghetti strap with a V cut and high waist. The bust area was decorated with silver stitching designed to look like flowers and vines. 

The whole dress was made of black velour, and the upper part of the skirt was crimped up around the hips and held like that with ornate silver stitching of the same design as around the bust. More silver threads were sewn into the skirt of the dress at key intervals. There was an under slip that Harry pulled on first. It had a stiff hoop-like structure to it so her skirt would look full. Then she pulled on another slip on top of that one. Finally, she pulled on the dress. 

Hermione quickly zipped her up. That done, Harry touched herself up with perfume and then looked at herself in the full-length mirror beside her bed.  There was something missing… Inhaling, Harry smiled and lifted her skirts and latched her Rosewood Wand and holster to her calf. That done, she nodded and presented herself to her friend.

Lavender spoke before Hermione could. “That is  _ gorgeous! _ Oh, Harry! You look stunning!”

Giving an appreciative curtsy, Harry smiled at her and then turned to Hermione. Her friend pursed her lips. “Let your hair down. I think it looks better wild, besides your earrings don’t quite match in color, so your hair will cover that.”  Nodding, Harry did as she said. Hermione frowned some more and then grabbed some Sleekeazy and started fussing with her curls. Harry sighed and kept an eye on the clock on her bedside.  By the time Hermione was done, it was time for the champions to get down there. They would be doing the opening dance.  Hurrying down, Harry frowned when she saw a huge crowd and commotion. Lifting her skirts slightly, she hurried downstairs and inhaled sharply. 

“Ron!”

Her friend looked up from the ground and then smiled at her half-heartedly. “Twisted my ankle pretty badly. Don’t worry. Madam Pomfrey is coming here soon. But I won’t be able to dance the opening with you.”

Daphne spoke up quietly. “Harry, I can dance with Tom later. You and he can dance together. That way you won’t get in trouble.”

Too worried for her friend to smell a rat snake fink, Harry nodded and then crouched beside Ron’s fallen form. He looked at her and smiled. “You sure look beautiful Harry. Sirius will be having a hard time keeping all the boys off of you.”

Harry laughed and then took his hand encouragingly. “At least you can get out of the dancing. I knew you weren’t looking forward to it.”

Chuckling, Ron nodded, wincing as he shifted his foot. “Yeah, lucky me! All the boys are prolly jealous of me. All except for Neville. He’s a freak. He  _ likes _ dancing.” That caused some laughter as Neville flushed but laughed also, knowing that Ron didn’t mean any offense. 

Tom helped Harry up and then looked over where the teachers were hurrying towards them. Madame Pomfrey frowned. “Now how in the blazes did you accomplish this, Mr Weasley?”

“I dunno. I was walking down the stairs and suddenly I was sliding down the stairs. My tailbone is pretty bruised, but my ankle and wrist took the brunt of the fall. Maybe my shoes were the wrong size and I tripped?” Ron hissed as she touched it.

Humming, Pomfrey nodded. “Hairline fracture. I can heal it easily with a simple spell, no need for you to leave the party. However, I don’t want you on your feet for the next two hours.” He nodded and grinned at the jealous looks from his classmates.  He could enjoy the party, pig out on the food and not worry about having girls ask him to dance.

McGonagall glanced over at Tom and Harry and then clicked her tongue. “What are you two doing here still?! Go on! To the main door! The dance floor is about to open! Get going!”

Harry waved to Ron as Tom quickly guided her away. They made it to the line in time for the doors to open. They filed into the room where the other teachers and adult chaperones were waiting. They went up and sat down at their table, it was at the head of the hall. The teachers’ table had been split in half and were on either side of the champions’ table.  When they sat down, the other doors flew open and the rest of the student body filed in. Ron limped up to the sidelines and then waited for a clear moment to get to his chair beside Harry. He faltered when he saw Hermione sitting between Tom’s date, Daphne Greengrass, and Viktor Krum.  Harry tugged his arm, and he slowly sat down, not pulling his eyes away from Hermione’s fidgeting form. 

Ron was seated on the end of the table, then Harry was beside him, next was Tom, then Daphne, then Hermione, then Krum, then Greene, then Pansy Parkinson (who had been surprised but pleased that Greene has asked her out), then Fleur’s date, then Fleur, then Jean, and then Jean’s date, a sixth year Ravenclaw that Harry didn’t know.

Smiling, Harry looked Ron and then winked, keeping her voice low. “Don’t eat all the desserts while I’m gone dancing, Ronnikins.”

He gave her a distracted grin. “No promises.” She rolled her eyes and then stood up with Tom. Daphne slipped over to Ron’s side to keep him company.  They started talking about the different outfits. Ron found himself laughing and nicely distracted from Krum holding Hermione.  “That dress on Fleur honestly looks like it was shat on by an angry butterfly.” Daphne kept her voice low and shushed Ron good naturedly when he chortled. 

“Dig Pansy’s hair!” Ron snickered. Daphne curled her lip.

“No thanks. My hands would never get clean again. But I do see what you mean. What  _ did _ she do with it? Have a blind House Elf make it up?”

“Blind and drooling. What  _ is _ in her hair?”

“I’d really rather not find out.” Daphne sighed and then looked at Tom and Harry. “They would look the perfect couple if Tom were just a tiny bit taller.” Ron snorted behind his fist and shook his head. 

“Be thankful he didn’t hear you say that.” Daphne shivered.

“Right. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about them.”

“Probably.” Ron nodded to Hermione. “Pink doesn’t really suit her.”

“Hmm, you’re right. She should have done with a more earth tone color. Like a tan brown, with golden jewelry. Elegant and simple. Hair up is good though.”

Ron wrinkled his nose as he looked at Krum. “Is he drunk? Or can he just not dance?” It was rather unfair of Ron to judge Krum’s dancing when his was probably worse, but Ron was not in a charitable mood.

Daphne shook his head. “It’s a pity that he’s not as graceful on land as he is in the air. Oh! But how they clash! Didn’t he ask her what color she was wearing? Black would have been a much better choice! And look at Greene! He at least knew to match his tie color with Pansy’s blue dress. Tom was cautious and went with a black tie, but I have to admit, I was disappointed that he didn’t ask me for my color.” Daphne sighed sadly and then looked at Jean’s date’s attire. She was pretty but rather forgettable. Those glasses were tasteful though. So few were.

Ron fingered his black tie, thankful that Harry had chosen a black dress. Daphne grinned at him. “Yeah, she’s smart, she is.”

“She really is.” His voice was soft, thoughtful. “I wonder how smart she is…you know, there’s actually a lot I don’t know about her.” Ron remembered what Harry told him. 

_ “While in this gathering, take an opportunity to distance yourself from me. I don’t want people thinking that we’re two peas in a pod. You can’t risk your father’s job because of our friendship.” _

Daphne frowned at him. “Really? I thought you two spent a whole lot of time together.” Ron raised an eyebrow at her.

“I could say the same thing about you and Tom. Do you know everything about him?”

She blanched and then laughed softly. “I see your point.”  Ron’s mood had greatly improved by the time the champions had returned. Daphne nodded to Tom slightly, and he smiled back before helping Harry sit in what use to be Daphne’s chair. 

“You still didn’t answer my question.” Harry’s voice was cool and precise. She picked up her goblet and then said quietly, “Dobby, mulled wine.” The goblet filled with her chosen drink. Tom blinked at her and then scoffed.

“Cheater.”

She smirked at him and then raised an eyebrow. “How was it that Ron’s accident happened so perfectly in time with you escorting me to the dancefloor?”

Shrugging, Tom faked innocence. “How should I know? Ask Trelawney.”

Harry grimaced. “No thanks. I’d rather not know how else Ron’s accident shows my eternal damnation.” He snorted and then ordered his food.

The music picked up again, and some couples decided to dance before dinner. Harry frowned and wondered what she should order. Hermione and Krum could be heard talking about the different schools all around the world and what they could offer. Harry had never heard of Ilvermorny. She made a mental note to ask Death if the MACUSA has banned Necromancy. Since she was one of the few Necromancers left, she wouldn’t be surprised. Still, it paid to be thorough.

“Perhaps, before you dine, I could have this dance?”

Harry looked up at Gerald Greene and then smiled. “Of course.” Her quick mind picked up that Greene, Krum, Karkaroff, and everyone else from Durmstrang, lived on the ship. 

Sirius’ words about Karkaroff being a follower of Grindelwald came back to her. Dumbledore’s doubt as to if Karkaroff would stay away made her want to check for herself. Harry couldn't help but wonder why she hadn’t delved into that suspicion before. She slipped away from an angry Tom and took Greene’s hand. They entered the dancefloor. Harry’s training kicked in, and she gave him a deep curtsy. He took a split second before giving her a deep bow in return. 

“Trained eh?” He chuckled and took her hand. Suddenly the music changed to something slow. A waltz. 

Harry hummed along to the song and then frowned. “What is this one called?” She wasn’t really expecting an answer, but Greene smiled and spoke up.

“Vienna Blood Waltz. May I say, you dance divinely.” He traveled with her for a moment and then returned seamlessly to the classic box step. Harry laughed and smiled back at him. 

She needed to be invited onto the ship. Karkaroff was roughly trained in blocking his soul. She could tell that much, so she needed to get to him when he was relaxed and not around Albus Dumbledore.  The ship was the only option.  Greene, or Krum, was her only ticket onto the ship. And right now, she had Greene with her. 

“Thank you, Gerald. May I say your name?”

“Of course, as long as I can call you Harriet.” His eyes glittered.

Smiling and faking a light blush, she nodded. There were only about ten other couples on the floor. Not a lot of the student body knew how to dance a waltz comfortably. Most of the couples were pureblood students or teachers. 

For example, Albus was dancing with Karina.

Gerald eyed them for a moment before turning back to his partner. Harry slipped her hand a little further up his arm and coaxed them to dance closer.

“Are there classes in Durmstrang for dancing?”

His hand curled tighter around her hip, and he smiled. “Yes, but not as comprehensive as I think they should be. Hogwarts?”

“Nothing. The ball brought on emergency classes, but that was it. I’m frankly disappointed in the curriculum in England. I can’t say what other schools do, but I have to admit Hogwarts could do a lot better.”

He twirled her and then brought her back to him easily. She floated upon his direction. “What would you change?” There was an earnest curiosity in his eyes.

Harry hummed. “Well, I would make magical first aid classes mandatory. Then for Muggle Studies, I would allow an actual Muggle Born to teach the bloody course. Dancing and etiquette classes would be optional for fourth years and higher. I’d include mandatory PE for all years, and then I’d increase Hogwarts to have special courses or programs as Muggles call them, for postgraduate students who want to continue their education and can continue to live near Hogwarts, and that’s one thing. I would turn Hogsmeade into a student town for student residences. Maybe build a university version of Hogwarts on the other side of the lake and all the students go there for the programs.” 

Harry sighed and shook her head. “I’m dreaming of a fanciful world. The Magical Community is stuck in complacency and stupid lethargy. They would never want to change.”

“What would you say then to someone coming along and forcing said change?” Greene looked at her. Harry laughed and shook her head.

“Change, in order for it to stick, must come from within. Forced change will do nothing in the long term.” She sighed wearily and rested her head against his shoulder. The Vienna Blood Waltz shifted seamlessly into the Blue Danube, and they continued dancing.

“So what do you propose? To let the world rot and die?” He shook his head. “I’m no follower of Grindelwald, but I can’t see that happening to my home.”

“Gradual change. Patience is a virtue after all. I say it should be done slowly. The Purebloods are dying out, and with them our greatest problem. They are losing power, and they know it. Look.” She nodded towards Draco who was dancing with Hermione. “Son of a blood purist, Draco Malfoy is willing to hold conversation with a Mudblood, to even dance and touch one. The ice is melting. The rules are shifting. We shouldn’t moan and groan and do nothing, but we also shouldn’t force their hand. If we forced the people, then they would simply clamp down tighter on their dying ideals and archaic laws. Let them open their eyes through soft words and gentle smiles. Honey does a much better job at catching flies than vinegar.” She gave him a coy smile.

A faster waltz started, the Masquerade Waltz of War and Peace. Greene smiled down at her, eyes glittering. “I like you, Harriet. But, what you are saying is that we should dissolve the people’s trust before attacking their beliefs?”

“Yes. With their roots trimmed, the trees are always easier to transplant. Right?” She smiled at him under her lashes and then tilted her head back as they twirled around the dancefloor quickly. The room blurred wonderfully.

Greene leaned forward and softly whispered, “Why is Tom Riddle looking like he is planning my death?”

“Because he probably is.” She laughed and shook her head, eyes closed. “This is wonderful. I’m enjoying the action of dancing. While I trained for this moment, I didn’t realize it could be so fun!”

He laughed and twirled her again before matching her steps again. They narrowly bumped into Sirius and Karina, but missed. Tom and Daphne were dancing now.

Harry looked at Gerald. His eyes were glittering in the candlelight. There was attraction there. Harry knew he liked her. She smiled at him prettily, and then gasped when they  _ were _ bumped into. It was Albus and Minerva McGonagall. Albus bowed gently towards Gerald, who bowed in return. Then, they went back to their partners.

When the song came to an end, Gerald smiled and escorted her to the tables again.  Harry ordered her food, chicken cordon bleu with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy and steamed vegetables. She enjoyed her meal greatly. Pansy was being pacified by Greene now at the other end of the table. Harry giggled and then looked up when Tom came back. Both he and Ron looked like thunderclouds, though Daphne was doing a very good job of weather control for Ron.

Tom looked like he was about to erupt any moment. “What was that all about, eh?” His voice was harsh.

“What was what?”

“That flirting, and  _ resting your head on his shoulder _ !” Blue eyes darkened with rage.

Harry looked at Tom without a care. “That was me flirting and resting my head on his shoulder.” She narrowed her eyes at Tom. “Back. Off.” He faltered at her warning. 

“Harry-”

“Let’s make a list of everything you’ve done to me.” Her smile wasn’t pleasant. It was sharp and unforgiving. “Despite my telling you that I am not interested in any advances you have to offer, you use veritaserum to force me to say I love you. You then try and strong arm me into kissing you, hurting Ron in order to open the dancing with me, and now you are threatening someone simply because I harmlessly flirted with him.” She grabbed his wrist and tightened it to the point of almost snapping his bone. He inhaled sharply.

Her voice slithered into his head.  _ ‘I need to get to Karkaroff, and Greene is the only way to do it. You don’t mind when I act cunning, so don’t get in the way of my hunt! _ ’

She released him quickly and then turned back to her food, acting for all the world like their argument hadn’t happened. Tom took a breath and then another. He exhaled.

“I’m sorry, Harry.”

“Apology accepted.” She took another bite of her meal.

“But let me make a list too. You love me. I love you. You have dangerous enemies. I’m enemies with the same people too. You’re powerful. I’m powerful. We’re both wealthy. Sure, you could destroy my political career before I even start it, but look at it this way, I think you’re worth the risk.” His eyes were intense. “In the end, I love you more than any political career I could ever hope to have.”

Her fork faltered, and then she set it down. “I plan on becoming immortal, Tom. Grindelwald is already immortal. Two immortal enemies locked in an eternal struggle, destroying everything around us. Power, whether mine or yours, will be your downfall.”

“You don’t want me to become immortal.”

“I can’t trust you to become immortal.” Her voice was faint. “I can’t trust you to not turn on me. Merlin and Morgana were lovers. Did you know that? She still loved him but look what happened. Love does not conquer all. That is ludicrous. Love causes the most horrifying war wounds that never stop bleeding and never heal. That’s what love does.”

His hands tightened on his utensils. “You’re saying that I will betray you.”

“I’m saying that anything could happen.  _ I  _ could betray  _ you _ . I could succumb to Grindelwald and destroy you. You could succumb to Grindelwald and destroy me. We could keep on fighting side by side for eternity and nothing horrible would happen to our love life. Anything could happen. Are you truly willing to risk your soul for that? Immortality is not a whim. It’s not a game. We would be locked together  _ forever _ .”

Tom opened his mouth and then paused. He closed his eyes and nodded. “Then I’ll do some research.” She stared at him in surprise, but her answer was cut off when they overheard Ron and Hermione arguing about Krum. Krum was nowhere to be seen at the moment, thankfully, because Ron wasn’t being very kind in his words about him.

“Damn it. Where’s Daphne? She was on Ron control.” Tom grunted in anger. “I’ll have to talk to her later about abandoning her post. Come on.”

“Naw, my meal is more important than their angst.” Harry took another bite. “You go on.”

Tom looked at his finished dinner and sighed. “Fine then.”

When Harry looked up, they weren’t around. She guessed that Tom pushed them to the outside where no one would see Ron make an ass of himself.

Daphne appeared out of nowhere and then bit her lip. “Oh no. Tom’s pissed at me isn’t he?”

“Well, considering he had to deal with a squabbling Ron and Hermione on his own, yep.” Harry cheerfully popped the ‘p’ at the pale girl. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk him down before he talks to you.”

“Thank you.” The gratefulness in her voice made Harry frown.

“Has he hurt any of you?”

“No, but we always worry he might start should he get enraged enough.” Harry was impressed with Daphne’s candor.

“Alright.” She sipped her wine some more and then stood up. “I’ll go and search for them.” She had finished her dinner and didn’t want any dessert anyway.

However, when she went outside, she couldn’t find them. Instead, she found Snape and Karkaroff arguing about something or other. Harry vanished herself and slipped closer to the two men. 

“I tell you, he’s moving faster than normal! There are rumors that France and Italy and already fallen! And more countries too! Durmstrang will be next! He’s going to come after me.”

“Then that is your own fault. You chose to betray his followers and make deals.”

“And you didn’t?!”

“I assured Dumbledore of my usefulness.”

“The joys of being a double agent.” Karkaroff’s voice was filled with sarcasm.

If Harry hadn’t known firsthand how loyal Snape was to Albus, then she would have found herself doubting his honesty right then and there.  _ Damn, he’s a fine good actor! _ She shook her head and then left Snape to juggle his duties. She silently searched for her friends, but was beginning to wonder if they had simply been forced to retire early by Tom.

Sighing, she remained invisible and turned around to walk back to the Great Hall. She saw Greene talking to Pansy. Harry’s eyes narrowed as the boy seduced her into a kiss. She slipped closer and studied his eyes. 

They looked bored.

She smirked and traveled back to the hall. A very vain, very small part of her was pleased with that.

Wondering what to do now, Harry hummed and then felt a tap on her shoulder. “May I have this dance?” It was Sirius. He was grinning. Harry laughed and accepted him. “Harry Berry, you look beautiful! The belle of the ball! I’m proud of you.”

It was a highland reel this time. Harry took his hands and then started dancing. Draco was dancing with Daphne’s little sister, Astoria Greengrass. They looked like they were having fun. Neville was holding his own excellently with a thrilled looking Parvati.

Sirius guided her through the steps excellently. “How’s your first ball going?”

“With a few bumps and thumps, it’s going wonderfully overall. Ron and Hermione have vanished off to who knows where for a spat over Hermione going out with Krum. Ron’s got his head so far up his arse that he can see through his mouth.”

Sirius barked a laugh and then nodded over to Karina. Albus waved at him and then Sirius winked.

Harry didn’t know what quite happened, but somehow, Albus and Sirius switched on her and she was dancing with her Headmaster instead of her godfather. Sirius was currently dancing with Karina.

“Well! How smooth!” She beamed up at Albus. 

He chuckled. “It is important never to keep a lady alone on the dancefloor, and Sirius wanted to dance with Karina as soon as she was done dancing with her son. I hope you don’t mind, my dear?”

“Not at all. You’re both marvelous dancers!” She laughed and let him guide her along the dancefloor, enjoying the night to the fullest.

“I don’t mean to talk shop, but I couldn’t help but see you becoming a bit handsy with the Durmstrang boy. To what end?” He raised an eyebrow. 

Harry smirked. “How is it that you can tell when I’m angling and Tom can’t?”

“Tom is a child, Harry. And so are you. Don’t think you know all the tricks in the book.” Albus’ eyes twinkled. “You still haven’t gotten through chapter three of that book.”

“Oh! But I’m on chapter three already, am I?” She batted her lashes at him vivaciously.

Albus laughed brightly and shook his head. “There are over two thousand chapters, dear Harriet. Don’t hold your breath.’

She pouted. “Of course there are.” He smirked at her and then guided her along easily, weaving between the dancers without thought. Harry felt like she was dancing on clouds with him. “To answer your question, I’m trying to get a closer look at Karkaroff. He’s been trained in Soul Occlumency and might have given you some fake news. I need to get into the ship where he’s more relaxed.” Albus pressed his lips together tightly and then nodded. 

“I see what you mean. Fabricating thoughts and memories in the soul…that is an interesting idea…” He blinked and then looked at her carefully. “Have you figured out the egg yet?”

“Mermish, but we’re having trouble translating it.”

Albus gave her a look and then laughed. “You can’t translate Mermish, Harriet. That’s impossible. It’s one of those languages with a completely impossible culture that has no words to match with ours.” He chuckled again and then continued dancing in silence. Harry frowned at him and tried to puzzle through his meaning


	16. Trouble, Thy Name is Rita

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are made and papers are foiled, but what is Skeeter up to?

~very early the next morning~

Karina Zabini smiled and stepped into Rita’s office. “Well? What is it? I’m busy. I need to get this out for the morning rush!”

“About that. Unfortunately, you won’t be writing that article like you had planned. Instead, you’ll be publishing this under your name instead.” Karina smiled sweetly and slipped the neatly typed pages across the desk towards the confused woman.

“Who the devil are you?!” Skeeter stood up to intimidate, but Karina simply looked amused.

“I’m the new owner of the  _ Daily Prophet _ and your new boss. Karina Zabini.” She lifted her hand up to shake the woman’s. Skeeter numbly did so and then blinked rapidly. 

“You’re saying that you’re gagging me from writing about that half giant?!”

“Not at all, I’m just thinking that the readers will be much more interested in what the ladies were wearing and who was dancing with who and what the decorations were. Because,” she leaned on the corner of Skeeter’s desk, “let’s face it, the major population of your readers will be parents who weren’t able to see their children done up beautifully. This will give them a chance to live vicariously through it, and look, who wants to know about some uneducated half giant who was expelled from Hogwarts and given a job as a caretaker?” Karina laughed dismissively. “I certainly wouldn’t want to read that.” She sighed with boredom and glanced at her nails.

Skeeter picked up the papers and skimmed them. This was good material to go off of. And she had always wanted to do one of those high and mighty social columns.

“Alright then. I’ll write this.” She looked at Ms. Karina Zabini. “Pleasure working with you.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Karina winked at her and then slipped from the office to meet up with Sirius for breakfast. When they met up, she nodded to him. 

“You actually managed to manipulate her soul? Nice.” Sirius kissed her temple and apparated them both to a beautiful restaurant on the Thames. 

“It wasn’t as hard as it looks and besides, Harriet gave Blaise some tips that he passed onto me.” She smiled at Sirius and then gave the waiter her wrap to check for her as she sat down at their table. Sirius grinned.

“My dangerous woman.” 

She winked at him. “My wonderful man.”

~meanwhile~

_ Albus smiled as he stepped out of the bath, satin robe loosely wrapped around him. Gellert licked his lips and grabbed the sash gently, pulling his lover close to him. They kissed each other softly, gently, having all the time in the world to explore each other’s body. _

_ Spreading his hands wide, Gellert slipped them around the older man’s hips and stood up, pulling him closer still. Albus closed his eyes and tilted his head, allowing Gellert to taste his favorite spot. The area of the neck just below the jaw. _

_ Hands gliding up and then gripping the sleeves, Gellert pulled the robe off Albus’ body and then nudged him backward in the direction of the bed. _

_ “Please Gellert. Now.” Albus’ blue eyes seared into his own eyes. He canted his mouth closer to Gellert’s ear and breathed, “Make love to me, Gellert.” G _ _ roaning, Gellert shuddered and then pulled off his own robe.  _ _ Albus smiled up at him. “I love you.”  _ _ Exhaling in a rush, Gellert pulled him into another kiss, breaking away only after he had satisfied some fraction of his thirst for the man beneath him.  _

_ “I adore you, Albus. With all of my soul, I worship you.” _

_ Shaking his head gently, Albus laughed. “I don’t need your worship, Gellert. Only your love.” _

Gellert woke with a curse. He knew the moment he felt the stirrings of waking that it was only a dream. A memory.  He grunted and got up and moved lazily to his shower. He wouldn’t be rushed this morning. He had made sure of that.  No appointments and no meetings. Reclining his head backward, he turned on the hot water and envisioned Albus with him. His blood thrummed for the illusive man.

_ I will have you, and you will crave me as much as I crave you. You will love me as you did before your family corrupted you against me before your brother turned you away from me.  _ Gellert smiled as the water fell on his face. He knew Albus was still asleep. Chuckling softly, he pressed his bond and tricked the mind of his lover into feeling sensations that weren’t there.  Gellert wasn’t selfish. He wanted his love to feel pleasure also.

~Hogwarts, same morning~

Albus jerked awake, certain that there had been a person’s hand pressing into his side. Gasping, he tore off his covers and saw for himself that he was alone, but…he shuddered as he felt a hand between his legs and another upon his chest. Breath upon the back of his neck. Pleasure building up in the back of his mind.  Groaning, Albus tried to block it out, tried to lock him out. 

It took three tries, but he did it. The phantom touches vanished. Shivering in the middle of the room in only his pajama bottoms, Albus immediately contacted his brother to go check on Grindelwald for him. 

_ He should not be able to do that. Harriet said that he could only re-open the bond if he had magic.  _ Albus felt ill.  Ignoring his erection, he dressed swiftly, keeping his mind and soul locked tight.

~one hour later~

Harry sighed and looked at her friends. There was tension between Daphne and Tom and between Ron and Hermione.

Suddenly, Blaise appeared at her elbow. “Mom was able to distract Skeeter via slight soul manipulation. I know you haven’t taught us yet, but she managed it.”

“I’m impressed.” Harry raised an eyebrow at him. “Very impressed.” He beamed down at her and then glanced around. 

“Skeeter was going to write about Hagrid being a half-giant. Draco and I overheard him telling that to that French Headmistress in the garden last night.”

“How did Skeeter overhear a secret conversation? Come to think of it, how did Skeeter get through Hogwarts’ security wards?” Harry frowned darkly. “Until we find out, we can’t continue the lessons in the woods. I want to know exactly what she’s up to. Also, I need to see Skeeter for myself and see how permanent your mother’s manipulation was.” Blaise nodded and then stepped back to talk to Theo.

Raking a hand through her hair, Harry grunted in greeting to Tom, but Hermione’s exclamation caught her attention. 

“Doesn’t he ever go into the office?! Look!” She was looking at Bagman. The man was deep in a conversation with some seedy looking goblins. 

An idea sparked in her mind. Albus said that translating Mermish was impossible, but the message had to translate somehow for it to have any meaning as a hint. That meant there was a ceremony or ritual that translated the message in the egg.  All the translation spells Tom and she tried hadn’t worked. A ceremony then.  And Bagman would know it.  Smiling, Harry hurried up to the man. The man saw her also and met her halfway, brushing off the now angry looking goblins.  The conversation that he had with her wasn’t interesting to Harry. She let Tom do the talking while she scanned the man’s soul thoroughly. She was uninterested in his debts, uncaring for any of that. She was only looking for  _ one _ thing.  Ah! You put the egg in the water! 

Pulling away from her search, Harry flashed him a brilliant smile, flattered him a bit and then swept Tom away. “We put the egg in water and listen to it underwater. That’s the only translation needed.”

Tom smacked his forehead in anger. “Idiot! Mermaids and water! Of course! We can do that tonight. Do you have a bath big enough?”

“Nope. You?”  He sighed and shook his head.

The others were talking, but they ignored them. “We’ll have to go to the woods and-”

“No, Skeeter is on the loose somewhere. We can’t do it on Hogwarts grounds. She’ll see us, and she’ll see us traveling without apparating which will raise her wind up.”

Tom gritted his teeth. “I wish she was dead.”

Laughing caustically, Harry smirked into her butterbeer and nodded. “Me too sometimes.” She looked up and saw Death leaning against the wall out of the way. He spoke up.

“I checked on Skeeter for you. The manipulation that Karina did was spot on, but faint. It faded off and left Skeeter nastier than ever. Though she doesn’t know how she was tricked, she’s claiming Imperius Curse. No one is listening to her though. So that’s good. Karina is still fully in control of the newspaper. And the other reporters adore her. She’s having them become actual journalists instead of scandal sheet gossips.”

Smiling, Harry nodded slightly to him and then turned back just in time to stop Ron from stealing a chip. “Oi! Leave off!” She ignored Tom’s looks, like she was wont to do lately. He was continuously looking at her now, searing stares straight into her soul. Harry hated it. It made her feel jittery.

Swallowing, she tried to focus on her meal. Death vanished into the Underworld with a chuckle and a knowing look. However, his voice curled telepathically in her head.  _ ‘The more you fight it, the more he’ll fight for it. That is the nature of Tom Riddle.’ _

_ ‘He’ll back off when he finds out what I’ve done to him.’ _

_ ‘Are you sure it’s wise to become his enemy? He knows too much.’ _

_ 'At least the lines will be clear. I’d rather them drawn clearly in blood than vague in love.' _

_ ‘That’s stupid, Harriet. But it’s your choice.’ _ He cut the connection. She inhaled shakily and tried not to think about the future.

Tom straightened. “My home in Little Hangleton. We can go to Riddle Manor. There’s a bloody huge pool in the back.”

Harry grinned tensely at him and nodded. “Excellent! We can do that this week then.” She wasn't looking forward to it. 

Cursing, Ron sunk lower and pointed towards the door. “Uh oh. Here comes trouble.”

They looked up, and Tom cursed a blue streak in Parseltongue. “Fucking bitch. I hate her guts. Blaise told me what she had tried to print about Hagrid. Does he know by the way?”

Hermione gave him a sharp look at his language, but Harry shook her head. “No, he doesn’t, and I’d like it to stay that way. Hagrid is surprisingly delicate when it comes to his emotions. His lessons are greatly affected. If he gets in a slump, then he’ll teach us about flobberworms or something. He cannot know how close he came to humiliation.” Tom nodded in agreement.

Huffing hotly, Hermione crossed her arms. “I don’t see how she gets away with ruining people’s lives.” Her voice carried directly over to Skeeter. Hermione looked over at the woman. “She seems to live off the destruction and misery of others.”

“Oh shut up, you silly, little girl.”

Harry jumped up and smacked the woman’s table hard enough for it to overturn. “You stay away from my friends, Skeeter, or I will destroy you just like I destroyed Parkinson.” Her eyes flashed rage filled green. “I will do it and no one will give a wooden knut to buy a story from  _ you _ . You’re picking the wrong people to make your enemies. Stop before it’s too late.”

Standing very slowly, Skeeter snapped her purse closed. “It’s about money, Potter. Not that you’d know. You are a silly, stuck up princess with a silver spoon in your mouth. What power do you have in the real world? Nothing! I could destroy your godfather, and your uncle. Don’t think I don’t know about his problem. He’s got a nice job now after the school got rid of him, nice and  _ cushy _ .” Her smile was vicious. “Hate to see him lose it.”

Laughing harshly, Harry reached over and grabbed the quill and snapped it in half. She grabbed the paper from the air and caused it to erupt in flames, not harming anything else near it. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Harriet Potter, heir of five houses, _and_ the five seats in the Wizengamot are _mine_ , and I will be your enemy, Rita Skeeter. You, are a fool.” With that, she straightened, nodded to her friends, tossed a couple of galleons on her own table to pay everyone and then walked out of the inn. Tom and Hermione both spat on Skeeter’s shoes before leaving. 

Blaise grinned and whispered to the woman, “I’m Blaise Zabini. My mother is your boss. You should start practicing your groveling.”  _ That  _ caused Skeeter to pale some.  By the time he caught up to the rest, Hermione was still not done fuming about ‘that awful woman’. 

Harry looked up and frowned when she caught sight of Albus entering the Hog’s Head. Slipping away from the group, she headed over to the more sketchy inn in Hogsmeade. 

Glancing over, Tom’s eyes narrowed, but he shrugged and let Harry have her secrecy. After a moment though, he nudged Nagini after her. The snake grumbled but slid along the cold ground. She protected by a warming charm though.

Upon looking inside, Harry could see that it wasn’t open yet. Everything was completely empty. Still invisible, Harry closed the door behind her and exhaled before heading over.

“…to visit him quickly, Brother. I fear what he’s able to do if he’s able to do  _ that _ much.” Aberforth looked at his brother intently as he poured drinks for them.

“Right. I’ll get over there immediately. Give me your pass so those bloody Aurors will allow me in this time.”

Albus looked at him sharply. “This time?!” He hesitated on handing over the charmed key. 

Rolling his eyes, Aberforth snorted. “Only wanted to rough him up a bit. That’s all.”

“Aberforth…” There was a dark warning in the older brother’s voice. Harry sighed and stepped closer to them.

“I find it very sad that neither of you noticed my-” She cut herself off as she realized that Aberforth had poured three drinks instead of two. She laughed and joined them at the bar. “Nice.”

Grinning smugly, Ab shoved the cup over to her. “Don’t underestimate a Dumbledore.”

Harry smiled at him. “I’m beginning to realize that. Yeah.” She eyed Nagini and then picked her up. “I’m also beginning to realize I should never underestimate a Riddle.” The snake coiled in on herself and hissed in what seemed to be embarrassment. Albus shook his head fondly.

“That boy…he’s certainly unique. But really, Ab, don’t you think you should go now?”

“Right.” Aberforth nodded and slipped to the backroom to shadow travel to the tower.

“Why should he go to Grindelwald?”

“Because…” He glanced down at the snake Harry was petting and then spoke in the Language of Death.  _ “I have been receiving dreams about…Grindelwald. He’s been re-connecting the bond.” _

Harry scowled.  _ “But that’s only possible if he’s able to use magic-” _

_ “Exactly. Which is why I’m sending Aberforth to check on him. I’m beginning to think that whoever is in that cell is not Grindelwald.” _ Albus rubbed his fake beard and then rubbed his face tiredly.  _ “Harriet, I truly don’t know what to do.” _

_ “Have you been able to block him like I taught you?” _

“ _ He strikes while I’m asleep, and when I just wake. I’m able to fight back once I fully wake, but when I’m asleep…”  _ Albus looked exhausted.

Giving him a concerned look, Harry rested her hand on his forearm. “ _ I’ll look into protection charms for sleeping. There’s got to be something Death knows about _ .” She smiled at him encouragingly. “ _ Besides that, how’s being immortal going? We haven’t really talked about it.” _

He grunted and then actually laid his forehead on the bar top.  _ “It feels like nothing’s changed. I’m sure in a few decades I’ll be seeing the reality of my choice, but currently, I don’t feel different at all. My power level hasn’t altered even in the slightest like the legends said it would.” _

_ “That’s because you’re already a Necromancer in training. You honestly have all the power you need. You, Grindelwald, myself and Tom are the most powerful magic users of our time, of history. Death said I could have defeated Morgana, and he also mentioned how you could have given Merlin a run for his money.”  _ Albus looked slightly pleased with that knowledge. Harry frowned softly.  _ “But also, I wanted to tell you about the Snake Heir. Both sides of his family hail from the founder’s blood.” _

Eyes widening in shock, Albus straightened on his stool.  _ “Are you completely certain?”  _ She nodded seriously _._ _ “ _T_ his is certainly a surprise. I wonder how they slipped by me.” _ He chuckled tiredly and then tilted his head upward and stared at the ceiling.  _ “I’m so tired, Harriet. So incredibly tired. Would I have a better chance of fighting Grindelwald if I gave him the illusion that I was joining him? Should I become a spy like Severus?”  _ He continued before she could answer.  _ “I was thinking it through. The body of a Master of Death is still mortal. It can die. However, once the wounds are healed, the soul is able to be hosted in the body again. What if…what if the wounds were never to heal? What if the soul could somehow be entangled in the Underworld? What if the body was never inhabitable by the soul again?”  _ He turned and looked at her curiously.

Harry stared at him in shock and awe. Albus was a tactical genius. He had been able to find a flaw in the immortal body of the Master of Death. She frowned suddenly.  _ “But that would mean inflicting fatal wounds over and over and over again on the man you once called lover. If impaled, the body would adjust and heal and still host the soul. If obliterated, the body would simply reform in the place of his birth. A killing blow on repeat is the only way to accomplish what you're offering. You, your brother, and I are immortal. The task would fall to us to see this punishment done. Are you really able to live with killing him over and over and over again?” _

Still staring at her, Albus blinked slowly, tears threatening to come. He held them back and shook his head.  _ “I would not be able to, but Aberforth, and you, yes. I would be the one to hold his soul in the Underworld. I will gladly become Death’s second in command and watch over the rogue souls, including Grindelwald’s. If he would hire me in the end, then I think that’s what I’ll do. Aberforth and you will be the guardians of the living world. My place is with the dead.” _ He stared at the rings of condensation left behind by the now empty glass.

Harry frowned and took his hands. “ _ Albus, stop thinking so morosely. Let’s take one thing at a time. Namely, Skeeter. Did you know about her coming close to telling Hagrid’s secret? Karina used Soul Magic, specifically Thought Manipulation, on her and changed her mind this morning.” _

Looking disgruntled and impressed, Albus huffed in what would be a pout, but his character didn’t allow it to be. “ _ I thought you said you weren’t going to teach us that yet?” _

Rolling her eyes, Harry snorted. “ _ I was grilled by Blaise, and he passed the information on to his mother. I’m glad in this case. It saved Hagrid a lot of trouble.” _

Albus rubbed his beard in thought. “ _ I don’t know. Aberforth performed rather crude experiments on a goat and stood tall through the scandal. Hagrid would have survived.” _

Eyebrow raised, Harry blinked and spoke in English. “One, I need to know the full story of that one, and two, Hagrid is a very gentle giant.” She smirked. “He cares too much about this nasty inane world.”

“Yes. Foolish of him.” Albus snorted and then poured himself another shot of firewhiskey. “I’m  _ technically  _ off the clock at the moment. Don’t worry.” He winked and then downed it in one go.

Suitably impressed at his drinking ability, Harry had to wonder where he had built up the stamina. However, she shook that thought away and picked up her own whiskey and sipped it. Albus wrapped an arm around her shoulders and chuckled down at her.  “You know, Harriet, I think I speak for my brother when I say, that we think of you like a sister…a dear, spoiled, dangerous, little sister.”

“Oi! Ruining the moment.”

He only laughed in reply.

Neither noticed a small beetle looking insect crawl out a crack in a window. 

But, Hermione frowned as she saw it fly slowly passed her as Hermione started walking into the tavern. That pattern on the bug’s face looked…familiar.


	17. Let's Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discoveries are made, both good and bad, and Harry and Tom share a little bit more about their pasts to each other.   
> Also, plans are made for a game. ; D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for triggers. There will be waterboarding references made in this chapter. It will come soon after Tom and Harry listen to the mermaid's song, which will be in italics. The word 'Looking' will be bolded. It will be in this paragraph.

~two hours later~

Rita looked up and stared at Hal Bookin, the archivist of the  _ Daily Prophet. “ _ Well?!”

“I listened to the recording spell you gave me, and I think I found a match. Listen.” The man lifted a black orb, and Rita snatched it fast. “Thanks, I’ve got it from here.” He shrugged and left. After she was certain he was gone (she didn’t want anyone to know about this possible scoop before she could print it), Rita smirked and played the message. 

It was a really,  _ really _ old message sent out to all papers back in the late seventeen hundreds. First came a sample of the language that sounded identical to the recording she had of the Headmaster and Potter. Then, came a message from the Ministry about the language.

_ “To all agents of light and order, we, the government of the Magical World in Britain, beseech you to do your part and keep a lookout for all suspicious characters speaking in this tongue. It is an abomination to the Magical World. This language is used by those who are practitioners of Death Magic, otherwise known as Necromancy. This art is highly illegal and extremely Dark Magic. Anyone known using said magic are to be reported to the Ministry immediately. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Thank you, the Ministry of Magic, and her Auror Enforcers of Light Magic.” _

Rita Skeeter swallowed and stared at the orb and then at her own recording. She had a landmine.  _ This could blow up in my face if I don’t act on it just so. Blackmailing right now is out. Potter and Dumbledore are two of the most politically powerful figures in England right now. That spell recording is too flimsy for me to send in as proof, besides those fat cats wouldn’t dare believe their Angel Who Lived is a Necromancer. Dumbledore, defeater of Grindelwald, even less so. _

She started pacing around the small, dusty room. “More evidence. Proof that can’t be denied, and then I’ll strike.” She nodded. Rita would collect more evidence, then report them to the Ministry and make a huge hit with her massive info scoop. She would be the only one with all the information. Rita grinned widely. “It’ll make a fortune, and it will shut down that nasty chit, Potter, too.”

She laughed triumphantly.

~two days later~

Tom and Harry appeared at Riddle Manor and then swiftly changed into their swimwear. While Harry was grabbing the egg, Tom heated the pool with a nice, long-lasting, heating spell.

“Been practicing that for just this moment.” He smirked and then set their towels aside. “Glad you read Bagman’s soul. I can’t understand how they would expect us to throw this thing into the water.” He rolled his eyes and then slipped into the pool, sighing in delight.

Snorting, Harry hesitantly joined him. “I can’t help but think that these challenges are things we are  _ expected  _ to cheat on.” She wetted her lips, swallowed and then gripped the edge of the wall to convince herself that she was still in control before she nodded to him slowly, inhaled deeply, and then sunk under the water with Tom. Together, they opened the egg and listened to the beautiful music and voice spread around them. 

“ _ Come seek us where our voices sound,  _

_ We cannot sing above the ground, _

_ And while you’re searching, ponder this: _

_ We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss, _

_ An hour long you’ll have to look,  _

_ And to recover what we took, _

_ But past an hour - the prospect’s black, _

_ Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back.” _

They rose to the surface again and stared at each other. Tom frowned in worry. “Do you think I’ll have to do this one alone then?”

Harry blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?” Tom shrugged.

“Well, the only thing I’ll _sorely_ _miss_ would be you.” She inhaled sharply and then began coughing as she had inhaled pool water. “Anapneo!”

She inhaled and relaxed when she began to breathe freely again. They climbed out of the pool and toweled off, hurrying back inside to have some cocoa. Frank, the caretaker, was in the village to give them space.

“What do you think? It’ll be the people we hold most dear or something?”

“Well, it can’t be objects. I don’t have much I would hold more valuable over you.” Tom frowned when Harry turned away and wouldn’t look at him. He sighed and caught her hand, gently pulling her back around to face him. “Let me have my love for you, Harry. You don’t have to return it, just let me have it.”

Knowing what he meant, she nodded silently and then struggled to let the awkward moment pass. “Then, they’d take Sirius? Or Hermione? They can’t touch champions. We need to work together on this. What about the visitors? Will they have apparated in their friends and lovers just for this? Where would the mermaids be?”

Tom shrugged. “I don’t know much about the first few questions, but I know the mermaids will be in the lake.” He frowned. “I don’t know where their specific settlement is though. I wonder if the library has a map…”

Shaking her head, Harry tried to quell the tremors in her hands. “That means, wherever it is, it’ll be underwater, right?”

“Yeah.” Tom looked at her with growing concern, eyes widening. “Harry? What’s wrong?” He grabbed both her hands and looked at her intently.

She tried not to catch his eye. “I’m not afraid of dying. But there’s one way I never want to die.” She swallowed. “I don’t wanna drown.”

He pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and waist. “Ginny always asks me if I need to talk about things…do you…need to talk too? We can exchange stories. I’ll tell you one of my biggest fears, besides your death of course, and you can tell me this one.”

“You go first.”

He chuckled softly and then spoke into her hair, holding her tightly against him as they leaned against the sofa near the blazing fireplace. “You know about my attempt, my depression before I found about about magic. It wasn’t just being passed over by the families that snapped me. It was…I tried doing something nice for another boy in the orphanage. I stopped a few street kids from hurting him. He didn’t seem too freaked out about my magic. My…demon abilities. After that, we started becoming what I thought were friends.” 

Tom exhaled. “We weren’t. He wasn’t my friend. He was just pretending to like me. I asked the matron in charge if he could sleepover in my room. Charles had been complaining about not being able to sleep. I had a room all to myself. I thought it would be fine. I woke up in the middle of the night, tied and gagged. All the older boys in the male dormitory were there, holding bats, pieces of wood, whatever that was long and hard that they could hit me with. Charles…laughed at my shock. Said he’d never wanted to be my friend, but he’d drawn the short straw. I…I guess I snapped. I screamed behind the gag and the entire room went up in flames. Almost all the boys got out, but not Charles. He somehow got the bedsheets tangled up around his feet and died, burned alive. I was in the hospital for a week because of smoke inhalation. I stole a scalpel but got it confiscated by the matron.”  His laugh was brittle and bitter. “So, I took her letter opener and sharpened that instead. Ever after, I can’t…can’t allow myself to even have a blindfold on, to be tied down. It…reminds me of my helplessness, the betrayal, the terror, and the anger. I can’t stand being lied to.” He kissed her cheek. “So thank you, thank you for telling me the truth. I appreciate it.” He smiled at her and smoothed her hair back behind her ears.

Harry swallowed back bile. She was no better than those boys. She…couldn’t…

**Looking** away from him, she spoke in a whisper. A monotone whisper. “When I was younger, bathtime used to be mandatory. Aunt Petunia washed me with gloves on, like I had a disease. As I grew older, I could wash myself, but once, when I was still pretty young, I couldn’t stop screaming. Aunt Petunia was out at the time. It was Uncle Vernon’s green vest. Green scared me back then. Terrified me. It was the color of the Killing Curse that killed my parents, that almost killed me. He tried to ignore me, but I was still too frightened to shut up, too young to know better, so he grabbed me and filled the bathtub.”

Tom’s hands tightened around her torso. “No.”

Speaking over him, Harry screwed her eyes shut. “He shoved me under and wouldn’t let me up until I stopped crying. That started a habit. Anytime I became terrified of green or was hurt and screaming, or did something…freakish, he’d take me to the tub. I quickly learned to never cry at all.”

“How…how old were you?” His voice was shaking in rage.

“Three. When it started. I learned before I turned five.”

“Dammit, Harry.” He pulled her against him and held her. “What else did they do to you?!”

“Well, Uncle Vernon only did the tub when Aunt Petunia wasn’t around. Even she didn’t know about that.” She wouldn't look at him. 

“And when she was around?”

“A belt.” Harry sighed a little. “I liked it when Aunt Petunia was around obviously.” Abruptly, she smiled brightly and pulled away. “Now! Enough of that nonsense! I’m not afraid of water per say. I’m just very wary of it. So! I will map out the lake, get use to it and force myself to get over this issue, and you find out just how we will survive underwater for an hour.”

Tom sighed and knew the moment was gone. Harry wouldn’t let him in. He was honestly surprised she had let him in as far as she had.  “Alright, but be careful while exploring.”

She waved him off and giggled. “Death will be with me and so will Hermione and Ron. They’ll even be in a rowboat on the surface. Happy?”

“Ecstatic.” He gave her a deadpan look.  She giggled again and then went back to drying her hair.  Tom turned and stared into the fireplace and watched the flames.

While Harry and Tom were wiling away their afternoon in Little Hangleton, Severus was steaming from his recent argument with Black, who was  _ still at Hogwarts,  _ staying in the parent and guardian residence.  Suddenly, he stilled at the foot of the stairs and then swiftly covered himself in shadows and watched Moody sneak forward and kneel in front of a small House Elf. He frowned even more when he saw the Elf hurriedly and covertly hand off ingredients that could only be for a Polyjuice Potion. Severus studied the Elf intently. She looked besotted with Moody.

_ The ex-auror doesn’t own a House Elf. Who does she belong to? _ Gritting his teeth, Severus backed up the stairs slowly, edging away from the duo, but, to his absolute horror, felt his leg slip through the trick stair. He hardly used these stairs and so didn’t realize this was the level with the tricky one.  _ This infernal castle will be the death of me! _ Severus went cold as he realized that Moody was coming towards the stairs he was on. He remembered Harriet’s words. 

“ _ Because of that blasted eye, Moody will be able to see the shadows but not you. It will look like a completely black form in the same shape as you. He will know exactly where you are, and since he’s so much of a veteran, he will most likely be able to identify the use of Shadow Manipulation. You cannot let him see your face once he sees your Necromancy power.” _

The Defense Professor wasn’t looking up yet, still putting the ingredients away in his robes’ pockets. Severus struggled silently, trying to lift his leg out, but he couldn’t on his own.  _ DAMN THIS CASTLE! _

“Hey, Moody!” Severus snapped his head up and looked over at Sirius Black. He would never tell the cur, but he was happy to see him. Seemingly oblivious to the other man’s presence, Sirius grinned at Moody. 

“Yeah? I’m in a hurry, so make it quick.”

“Aw, I was just gonna ask you about Harriet’s latest exam. Why’d you fail her?” There was protective malice in Sirius’ eyes.

Shifting slightly, Moody snorted. “Cause she didn’t get the answers right. Now, if you excuse me-”

“But she did. Remus and I both saw her exam. Why’d you  _ fail _ her?”

“I wanted to wait until a parent and teacher’s meeting, but since you insist, I think your goddaughter cheated on her last two tests. I made them particularly hard, harder than auror entrance exams. All the other students, even Granger and Riddle, did average on it. She got a hundred. That’s impossible.” Moody edged away from the still pleasant man.

“My Harry Berry doesn’t cheat. Doesn’t need to. I’ll arrange another verbal exam with only you and her together, alright? That will clear this whole thing up.” Sirius snorted and then headed towards the stairs, his figure blocked Severus from Moody’s sight.

Disgruntled that Sirius was now going his way, Moody opted to go another direction and loop back when Black wasn’t there. Once Moody was out of sight, Sirius whirled around and shot out a hand. “Severus, grab my hand.”

Releasing his shadows, Severus appeared and then snatched Black’s hand. Sirius heaved him up and off the stair. They moved back to the floor. “You sensed me.”

“Of course. Necromancers can sense Necromancers. Harry told us that on the second day. Didn’t Harriet warn you about that eye of his?!” He gave Severus a sharp look at the man’s carelessness.

“I went invisible before I knew it was him.” Severus waved his hand impatiently. “Listen Black, Albus is out in Diagon and his brother is who knows where. Harriet is with Riddle. You’re the only one I can tell this to.” Severus’ eyes were intense, more so than usual. “I saw Moody receive ingredients that make a Polyjuice Potion.”

Sirius frowned darkly. “From whom?”

“A House Elf. I don’t know who she belongs to-”

Grabbing the man’s shoulders, Sirius looked around and then looked at Severus. “I can identify any Elf that belongs to an old house. It was part of my training as a Black. Severus, let me see your memory.”

Hesitating only for a moment, Severus exhaled and let go of the past for the sake of this. “Alright.” He lowered his shields and pushed that particular memory forward. 

Sirius inhaled slowly and then spoke softly. “Legilimens.” It wasn’t painful. Severus was annoyed to find that Sirius was quite talented in Legilimency and was doing extra care in making it painless.

It was over in a second. Sirius retreated from his mind and then pulled away from his physically. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought.

“Smaller than normal, large blue eyes, that same stupid smile of adoration. Winky. Her name is Winky, and she belongs to…” Sirius’ eyes flew open. “Shit. She belongs to Crouch!”

“But…Bartemius Crouch is invited into this school. He wouldn’t try and sneak potion ingredients to…”

“Crouch and Moody are both Grindelwald haters. They hunted his followers with a vengeance. They must be planning to pin Karkaroff with something. Or you.”

Severus frowned. “No…why would…why would Winky look at Moody, a man who is not of her family, with such adoration?”

“No clue. Maybe he slipped her some treats a couple of times. Elves aren’t particularly bright you know.” Sirius snorted and then stretched. “Well, you’re welcome for my saving your pale ass. I’m off to steak a snack from the kitchens.”

Sneering at the retreating man, Severus snarled and vowed to never need his help again.

~many days later~

Harry looked up when Sirius entered the common room. School was going to start in a few weeks. He looked around and then smiled at her and slumped onto the sofa with her. “I need to borrow the map for a bit, Harry. Could you grab it for me?”

Frowning at him, she nodded. “Sure. Just a sec.” Jumping up, she climbed the stairs and opened her trunk. Grabbing the folded piece of parchment, Harry hurried downstairs again and handed it over. He sprang from the sofa and grinned down at her. 

“Thanks! I’ll bring it back in one piece. Promise!” With a wink, he hurried out. Harry huffed and crossed her arms. 

_ I wonder what he’s up to… _

She shrugged and then looked over at the twins. They were snickering about something. “What’s got you guys giggling?”

“Peeves is in a depression.” George smirked.

“Yeah, he’s put out because the Apprentice of Death didn’t show up from the other schools.” Fred rolled his eyes. “He got all the ghosts in a twist about this guy and then there’s a no show. Honestly, even the Baron is pissed at him. Serves the little jerk right though.” The twins snorted and then went back to their chess game still snickering.

Harry pursed her lips and tried not to think about how close a call that was. Death had been avoiding Hogwarts because of Peeves’ declaration, but it was getting on both their nerves. They hadn’t been separated for this long ever.

Rolling her eyes, Harry waited until it was dark to travel to Karina’s place. She extended her hand to the woman and then traveled them both to Albus’ office. Aberforth was already there talking to his brother about Grindelwald. Severus, Sirius, and Blaise arrived upon hearing Harry’s summons in their heads.

“Alright, I’ve brought you all together to play a game of tag in the woods. Not these woods. Skeeter might be lurking about. We need to meet up in the heart of the Black Forest. The very center. Once there, we will do a complete free for all. No one is allowed to win together. You can form alliances true, but you will have to break them before the end of the game. It’s a simple game of capture the flag.”

Standing up, she smiled at them and pulled out a single foot by foot square of red silk. “Find this in the forest, and then find me. The first person to bring this to where I am hiding will be considered the best among you. He or she will no longer be an apprentice or an acolyte, but a Master Necromancer and ready for training in Soul Magic.”

Looking at Albus and then at Severus, she chuckled. “Two of you, Albus and Severus, are already ready for offensive Soul Magic. They have learned fast and mastered everything I’ve taught them. Sirius, Blaise, Aberforth, and Karina are not that far behind. You all know the first three principles of Death Magic. Karina and Blaise actually know more than any of the others about  _ offensive _ Soul Magic. However, Albus and Severus, you are very close to becoming Masters.” She smiled sweetly at them. “Don’t make me think I’ve wasted my time teaching you two.” She sighed and shrugged. “But to be honest, this is just me checking to see what you guys have retained. I want to know how well you do in actual practice with a time limit and the pressure.” 

She exhaled. “These lessons weren’t for the fun of it. Karina and Blaise, you’ll be sucked into this war because of your position. Italy, has already been reported to have fallen even while Grindelwald is in prison. He’ll go after you the moment you and Sirius become public with your relationship.”

Karina pulled her son into a hug and nodded to Harry. “We know.” Sirius wrapped an arm around her.

Breathing out through her nose, Harry closed her eyes and nodded. “Sirius, you’ll be targeted too, not just by Grindelwald but by the Ministry. Fudge is a coward. He will hide for as long as possible. Albus convinced me of this. He’s right. We won’t have any allies in the Ministry. You’ll be targeted because you know me and are my guardian. Remus will be targeted too, badly. Skeeter already threatened him.” Sirius frowned darkly at that. 

Steadying herself, Harry sat down and closed her eyes. “Severus, Aberforth, Albus, your positions are obvious. We will each be playing a part in the upcoming war. Blaise, Tom and I will reach an impasse very soon.” She opened her eyes and smiled at Blaise sadly. “Go with him. I need to know that he won’t do anything stupid. He might ask you to spy on me. Work with him. I’m afraid you will have to become a double agent.”

Blaise blinked. “But Harry, you and he are so close!”

“We are, and he loves me, but I think,” she took a breath, “I think…he loves his power and pride a little bit more. I’m keeping secrets from him, and it’s starting to annoy him. We’ll have a fight soon. Maybe not this year, but soon. I want you to be ready for when that happens.”

Nodding, Blaise swallowed and then nodded again. “Right.” Albus gave her a concerned look and then looked over at Sirius when the man cleared his throat.


	18. Play Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice competitive game between Gryffindors and Slytherins...what could possibly go wrong?

“Um, before we go off to the forest, Severus and I have found something curious.” He nodded to Severus. The Potions Master huffed and recounted what he witnessed last week. 

Sirius started speaking after he was done. “Something didn’t sit right with either of us, so we dug a little more. Using the map that I helped make, I watched the people in the castle.” He unfurled the map, already activated. “As you can all see, each footstep has a name attached. But this one, doesn’t seem to have a body.” Sirius tapped the name,  _ Bartemius Crouch _ . “The old man is currently sick at home. So who is…this guy?”

Aberforth frowned. “His son is dead. I personally went to make sure of his burial. That was his body buried. I saw it with my own eyes!”

Staring at the map, Albus sighed. “Polyjuice ingredients, a name that doesn’t have a body, and a friend who hasn’t told me anything.” He straightened. “I believe it’s time to investigate this a little further.” He dropped his glamour and winked at the others. “As Arnold Petrelli. Crouch has kept it a complete secret, but he rather fancies men of younger ages than he.” Albus waved his hand at his brother and sighed. “No, I will not go any further than a kiss, Brother.” He rolled his eyes and huffed. “You worry too much.” 

Harry laughed in disbelief and shook her head. “Alright then. With Albus is investigating, Severus, I think you need to keep an eye on Moody. Albus is right. Moody’s a friend of his. Why would he not include Albus in any investigation of Karkaroff? That doesn’t make any sense.” 

Sirius snapped his fingers. “Dobby can further befriend Winky! House Elves always meet up and brag about their families. I don’t believe a house would clothe an Elf and still keep her in their services. She must be lying about her clothing. Dobby can befriend Winky and try to find out what’s going on via Crouch’s household!”

Albus clapped his hands. “Excellent idea!”

Nodding, Harry smiled. “I’ll call him after the game tonight. Alright, war meeting is over.” She looked over at Albus and smiled. “It’s time to unwind and have some dangerous bits of fun. Oh! And I’ll be grading you harshly, so try your best to incorporate  _ everything _ I’ve taught you. Anyone who fails the worst gets to be the runt of the class and has to do one chore or favor of each of the other classmates~.” She sang that last part tauntingly.

Aberforth scoffed. “No pressure then.”

Thinking of something Karina smiled. “Harriet, can we…sabotage each other?”

Harry blinked at her and then smiled. “Sure. This is a mock battle. You’re all enemies. Only one can win. The rest is up to you on how miserably you lose.”

Sirius and Severus snarled at each other.

~meanwhile~

Rita breathed out her shock. She had landed herself in a diamond mine of knowledge!  _ I’ll have to follow them to this mock battle and try and take some photos, hard evidence that they cannot fight against. _ Nodding, she flew off and apparated to the center of the Black Forest and hid there, waiting for the others to come. Her camera was ready.

~heart of the Black Forest~

Harry appeared first with Albus and Aberforth forming on her right and left respectively. She waited for the others to form. They appeared scattered around the clearing, but all managed to face her in some way no matter where they appeared.

Harry smiled at them and nodded. “I will be somewhere in this forest. The entire forest is your playground. The flag is already hidden. Death had one of his reapers do it for me.”

Muttering a curse, Severus looked around. “Are they here now?”

Laughing, Harry shook her head. “No, you don’t have to worry about Grell. He won’t harass you during this. Death’s keeping him pretty busy so he hasn’t been able to hunt you down.”

Looking marginally relieved, Severus nodded and then focused on the task at hand.

Grinning for no particular reason, Sirius looked up at her. “Will you be here?”

“Nope. I’ll be somewhere loose in the woods. Find the flag and then find me. During your search for me, any of you are allowed to steal the flag from the person who has it. Good luck. The game will end when I have the flag in my hand.” She shrugged. “Or when we  _ have _ to return to our day jobs. Whichever comes first.”

The class faced outward and then Albus shot into the woods first, heading North. Aberforth vanished and followed his brother. Severus went South, while Karina went after Sirius to the West. Blaise used his shadows and lifted himself up and flew East. Harry smiled and then nodded to Death.

“I wonder if I should tell them you had me do this game in the Underworld with the Reapers trying to kill me.”

Death laughed. “Oh honestly, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Yeah, until Grell let Cerberus loose.  _ Then _ it got bad. I nearly became a chew toy.” She rolled her eyes at him and then frowned as a buzzing sound in the dead of night caught her attention. She looked around but only saw a small beetle. Stretching, she summoned a skeleton of a wolf and rode its back to the South most edge of the forest. She would wait at the Rhine River for a bit and then she’d move to the North.  Harry grinned. She had never said that she’d stay in one place.

Meanwhile, Albus was a bit tied up at the moment with his brother’s shadows. Aberforth grinned and then snapped his fingers.  Suddenly, Albus couldn’t breathe very well. When Aberforth let go of him, Albus fell onto the cold ground, panting weakly. “I didn’t take too much, just enough to stop you for a few minutes. Thanks for the energy, Brother.” Aberforth chuckled and vanished.

Grunting, Albus pressed his hand onto the ground and tried to reach the energy of the Earth far beneath the frozen soil. His fingers were numb.  Suddenly, Blaise appeared beside him, and Albus felt strength course into his extremities again. He inhaled thankfully.  “Why?”

“Cause I need you. Mother and Sirius have teamed up are were dogging my steps. I need an ally. Sirius seems to know where to look for the flag, but I can’t search his soul. Mother is on his side and obviously is waiting for him to simply show her.”

“You want me to find out?” Albus winced and stood up. He was still winded. “Very well.” Blaise propped him up and then slipped them both over to where a small waterfall was. Sirius was shadow fighting with Karina. She had stolen the flag.

Albus frowned and searched the distracted man’s soul and then smiled. “He had Remus follow the Reapers, using his abilities track them and to find out where the flag had been hidden.”

“Now my mother has it.” Blaise grinned. “I’ll distract her, and you steal it.”

“How?”

“It’ll be obvious. Just go invisible and wait.” Blaise nodded to him and then slipped down the rocky path, crying out.

Karina paled at the sight of her injured son. “BLAISE!”

Stepping lightly up behind her, Albus snatched the flag and the woman’s energy before appearing and flashing a shocked Blaise a cheeky grin. He then teleported away via the shadows.  Albus knew that Blaise had been thinking he would be too weak to fight back, but with Karina’s unwilling aid, Albus was quite back to normal again.

He landed beside a huge boulder and took a single step-

Pain lanced up his body, and he screamed, back arching.

“Oh don’t be that much of a wimp, Headmaster. It’s only a blood paralysis circle.” Severus appeared and grinned darkly from beyond the circle that he had carved into the ground. Pressing his hands onto the frozen earth, Severus started chanting in the Language of Death.  _ “Come to me, oh mighty Guardians of the Gates. Come and defend my worthy self. Come and hunt down my enemy, oh Hounds of Hell!” _

The ground cracked and shadows thickened and formed into seven massive Doberman Pincher looking beasts who all snarled, a deep resonating sound that shook the ground. Severus looked awed for a moment at having successfully summoned the Seven Hounds of Hell, but then he grinned and snatched the flag. He pulled the still frozen Albus’ outer robe off and then tossed it to the largest hound. 

_ “Do not let this scent escape you. Hunt it, hunt him until you are called back to Hell.”  _ Severus shot Albus a smirk. “Have fun.” With that, he vanished.

“Damn you, Severus Snape!” Albus groaned with effort and then finally broke the circle he was trapped in. The moment he started moving, the hounds all howled and gave chase.

Albus summoned his shadows and formed them into wings, making himself fly, like an angel of death. He soared out of the reach of the snapping jaws and heaved a relieved sigh before scowling in the direction Severus had fled.  Flying as swiftly and as low as he could so no Muggles could spot him but high enough so no hounds could eat him, he rushed after that blasted man. He was getting  _ angry _ now.  However, by the time he caught up to Severus, he saw the man was caught in a literal shadow web. Albus knew it was the work of his brother. His mirth was short-lived, because he heard the howl of the hounds. They had caught his scent. He regarded Severus. “I know where Aberforth went, and I know how to get you down. Call off your mongrels.”

Severus chuckled. “I’ll take my chances, Headmaster. Better get going. They’re coming.” 

Albus tensed and then sprang upon the cobweb and hid behind Severus. “Now we’re tangled together. When they eat me, they’ll eat you.”

“But I’m not an immortal Master of Death!”

Albus laughed softly. “Yes. Pity that.”

“You wouldn’t!” Severus struggled even more. “Not for a simple game!”

“Whether I would or not is a moot point. Here they come, and I am tangled up with you.”

“Call off your brother’s spell!” Severus’ voice was growing shaky.

“Call off the dogs.”

The hounds had cleared the last tree and were slowly approaching their prey. Severus swallowed and then shouted,  _ “Return thee to Hell!” _

The hounds vanished like vapors in the wind.

Albus smiled and then wordlessly negated his brother’s spell. Both Severus and he fell to the ground.

“Thank you. Aberforth went to the East. He always heads East no matter where he is. I’ve often wondered if I should get him to a mind healer because of it.” Albus ducked the other man’s attack and then flipped to the side and landed unfortunately on a patch of ice. He slid sideways and cursed as he nearly crashed through the thinly frozen over river. He lassoed a tree with his shadows and pulled himself up and out of the bank before he could touch the freezing water. Albus gritted his teeth and speared out with his shadows but froze and stared at something over Severus’ shoulder. “Harriet?!”

Turning, Severus kept Albus in his vision still. But his shock at what he saw caused him to temporarily forget about Albus. 

It was Harriet, smirking at them. Suddenly, Severus shouted in surprise when he found himself being knocked unconscious. Albus took too much energy for Severus to remain awake. Severus groaned as he fell to the ground. Harriet’s form vanished.  “Soul Hallucinations. Something I created on my own. Harriet doesn’t know of it yet. I’m planning on showing it to her after I win this game. What do you think?” Not waiting for an answer, Albus chuckled and then traveled after his brother, who always moved  _ North. _

He overtook his brother easily and summoned a truly dead vampire to come back and fight his brother. Flag in hand, Albus pressed his right hand to the Earth and cast out with his own magic. That was another thing. Harriet hadn’t said that they needed to use _only_ Necromancy. Chanting quietly in Latin, Albus found the residue of Harriet’s magical signature. Now that he knew what to look for, he switched back to Energy Manipulation and cast out the entire forest for her. 

He found Karina and Blaise fighting Sirius, with an impressive display of shadow manipulation. Blaise was chanting and summoning inferi while his mother was keeping Sirius on his toes.  Meanwhile, Severus was heading towards his location, with Aberforth hot on his heels. They would give him trouble. He couldn’t let them know where Harriet was.  Searching further, Albus pressed himself to find where Harriet was hiding. Her magical residue was strongest…

_There_! He grinned as he sensed her. She was at the eastern castle in the Black Forest. The one in Glatt. 

Standing, he ducked to the side and avoided Severus’ shadow barbs. He frowned when Severus pulled out two handguns and shot both brothers. Albus gasped as he felt himself quickly become paralyzed.

Severus stepped closer to him and smiled that eerie smile of his. “Harriet told me once how she hated how stifling the Magical Community was. We should learn a few things from the Muggles.” He crouched beside Albus and pulled out a bullet from his gun. “Hollow bullets with highly concentrated potions inside them. The bullets are charmed to dissolve upon immediate entry into the body. This leaves the potion inside to be instantly put into the system. This one has a paralysis potion that I invented myself.” There was a venomous smile on his face. “I’m planning on telling Harriet about it after I win this game.”  Severus grabbed the flag and then ripped his way into Dumbledore’s mind, through Legilimency. When he found Harriet’s location, he smiled and pulled out. “And it also paralyzes a person’s magic.” Standing up, he hummed and summoned his shadows. “But don’t worry, it wears off in five minutes.” With that, he vanished.

Severus ducked through the brush and then groaned in frustration when he found that Harriet had moved locations. He didn’t know how Albus had tracked her in the first place. Now he had to start all over again!  A low growling sound came out of nowhere. Severus turned and yelped in shock as a huge black dog lunged at him from above a high boulder.  Trying to avoid the razor sharp teeth, Severus failed to realize that he was being rolled into a portal that had already been opened. Sirius transformed again and snatched the flag from Severus’ pocket before kicking the Potions Master into the portal. “Have fun in hell, Snape. Remember, five minutes to get out before you die.” The portal closed on Severus still screaming curses at him.

Severus went still when he realized he was in a part of the Underworld he didn’t know.

“Sevvie? SEVVIE! I’m so glad that you could come down and see me!”  Severus scrambled back and paled significantly as he saw a lone Grell. He looked around himself wildly for an escape, but he didn’t know how to control the veil between the worlds.  “We’d better get you back to the surface though. Don’t want you dying prematurely.” Grell snatched him and then they appeared in…Paris. Under the Eiffel Tower. “A romantic getaway.” Grell snuggled up to him and then pulled the still shocked man into a kiss.

_ I am going to  _ murder  _ Black! _

~meanwhile~

Sirius shifted again and sniffed the air to find Harry’s scent.

When he did find it, he grinned and rushed after it. But, he yelped in pain when suddenly he found himself forced to transform. He looked up and stared at Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore. Both brothers were grinning the same grin as they looked down at him.

Jumping down into the ravine that they had thrown him into, Albus lazily pinned him down and snatched the flag. He jumped back up and tore the flag in half. Aberforth took one part of it, and Albus kept the other half. They smiled at the struggling man.

“Bye!” With a wave, they were gone.

Sirius groaned and slumped against the rocks. “Dammit.”

~in the Northwest corner of the forest~

Harry yawned and played jacks with knuckle bones and a pebble. Her students were taking soo long. Groaning, she abandoned the game and rolled onto her back with a sigh.

Suddenly, the ground rocked with a huge explosion. Jerking upward, she saw Karina racing towards her with her son on her heels. Karina had…two pieces of the flag?!

Raising an eyebrow, Harry watched as Sirius appeared out of nowhere and flipped Blaise’s robes over his face. The boy wiped out. Karina, like a good mother, faltered to gauge her son's health, giving Sirius just enough time to steal the two halves of the flag. He shadow traveled the rest of the way to Harry and presented her with the flag pieces.

Harry reached for them only to have them vanish. “WHAT THE HELL?!” Sirius gripped his hair in disbelief.

Appearing beside her, Albus cleared his throat and presented a whole flag. “Soul Magic Hallucination. Here.” He handed her the very real and very whole flag. Sirius was screaming obscenities at him. Aberforth was stunned. 

Not bothering to hide her grin, Harry nodded to Albus and then frowned and looked around. “Where’s Severus?”

“Erm. Currently? No clue.” Sirius grinned. “But…I threw him into a portal that took him to where Grell the Reaper was. In the Underworld.”

Harry gaped at him and then burst out laughing. Death sighed from behind her and vanished to stop the reaper from undoubtedly molesting the Potions Master.  He appeared a second later with a very harried looking Severus. His face was covered in lipstick marks. This just made Sirius fall onto the ground in side splitting laughter.

Harry couldn’t bring herself to warn Sirius about Severus lunging at him.

They rolled away in a classic school yard scuffle, wands knocked to the side, fists flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! I love hearing feedback!   
> Thanks for reading!  
> Ink...


	19. A Favor for a Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thread of danger that is Skeeter still persists in the background, while Tom and Harry make progress with their task. Albus grows suspicious and a niggling thought plagues both him and Hermione.

Harry looked at her brawling godfather and professor. She sighed and turned to Albus. “Can you make sure everyone gets back to the school in one piece? Oh, and I want you to take over lessons for Blaise and Karina. He’s a bit stuck on defending his soul. She’s coming along very well, but I would feel better if you could keep an eye on them.” She smiled at Albus. He bowed slightly towards her in acknowledgment.

“Of course.”

“And I expect you to teach me how you do that hallucination thing.” Her green eyes twinkled as she wrapped herself in soft shadows and vanished.

Albus chuckled and then glanced up at his brother. 

“So those halves were just me holding thin air?”

“Yes.”

“That’s diabolical, Albus. How do I fight it?”

“Common sense. When would I ever agree to work with you on something like that?" Albus shot him a smirk. "When you find a discrepancy, then you can easily block your soul. Once you’re aware of it, it doesn’t work anymore. Like so, I’m currently trying to make you think that the flag is cut in half. You only see one whole because I’m warning you.”

Aberforth hummed and then nodded slowly. “Interesting. So how do you do it?”

“A part of the Soul is made up of thoughts. It’s like a very light, non-intrusive Legilimency spell. Instead of making them think something. You remove the option you don’t want them to know of and let them fill in the blanks. I suggested ripping it in half and prevented you from thinking of it whole. Your mind worked with my suggestion.”

“Damn.” 

Blaise looked impressed. “I’m going to try that next time Snape does a pop quiz.”

Speaking up for the first time, Snape loomed behind him, looking a bit worse for wear, but no less frightening. “Try that, and you’ll be cleaning out frog guts for the rest of your career at Hogwarts.”

Quailing, Blaise attempted an innocent smile. “Yes, Professor.” 

Snape grumbled and then shadow traveled back to his quarters in Hogwarts to clean up.  Sirius went straight to his quarters in the parents/guardian area to do the same.

Making sure everyone was able to leave, Albus nodded and then waved down Karina and Blaise. “Harriet told me that she wants me to teach you how to defend your souls against attack. It’s called Soul Occlumency. I will start teaching you on Friday evenings.”  They both nodded and then parted to go get cleaned up also.

Aberforth grumbled and then sighed and looked at his brother. “When are you going to track down Crouch?”

Humming, Albus cracked his neck and then looked at the moon. “He often visits a certain Muggle club in downtown London. It’s called  _ The Blue Kitten. _ I will go there and look for him. He’s been ill though, so I think I’ll have the club call him. According to my research, he often has people come by to his vacation home, which is completely Muggle in decor.”

Giving his brother a worried look, Aberforth swallowed. “And just how do you know so much about this?!”

Smiling, Albus studied his younger sibling. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes. I’ll probably regret it, but yes.”

Chuckling, Albus shook his head. “I keep tabs on all high profile and heavyweight politicians and officials in the Ministry. Should Grindelwald try and infiltrate England, I want to be certain that they will not do anything…rash.”

“My brother’s a blackmailer.” Aberforth groaned and disapperated in a crack.

Shaking his head, Albus sighed and made sure he was the last one to travel away from the forest.

Or…so he thought.

Rita Skeeter shifted and stared at the spaces where they use to be. This was…a gold mine.  Grinning cuttingly, she whispered into the night air. “I’m the blackmailer now, Dumbledore.”  She couldn’t wait to develop her photos. The potions she had to make herself just so no one would get suspicious. She didn’t want to share this gold with anyone. Potions had never been her forte, but this one couldn't be too hard. Right? She grinned and disapparated.

~the next day~

Tom sighed and slammed another book closed. Hermione looked up at him. She had finished her stack too. “No luck huh.”

Shaking his head, he rubbed his face tiredly. “No luck. There is no spell, no charm, no nothing, that will allow us to stay alive and under the water for an hour. The bubblehead charm is the only one but that needs to be reapplied every fifteen minutes.” He looked up when Harry walked into the library. Draco nodded to her and then set his stack of books on the table. Blaise was sleeping. There were some nasty looking bruises on his arms and face.

He had only groaned as if in pain when Tom had asked about them. Then he said that he didn’t want to talk about it and pulled the covers over his head.

Daphne and Theo were talking quietly over their homework. 

“Any luck?” Harry looked over at Ron. The boy was summoning and banishing books whenever Pince wasn’t looking. Hermione was glaring at him.

Ignoring his ‘brother’, Tom sighed. “None. Partial Transfiguration and the Bubble Head Charm are the only things I could find, but Transfiguration is really hard, and the Bubble Head doesn’t last as long.”

Harry frowned. “Then we’ll have to scout the lake and make our route the most direct.” She sat down on the table and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Honestly, I think I could get us down there, but I’ve never tried to travel in and through water before.” 

Tom shook his head quickly. “No experimental stuff. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Waving her hand in dismissal, Harry snorted. “I’ll be fine! The worst is for me to die, and even then? It’ll be another adventure.”

“Dammit Harry!” Tom jumped up and slammed his book onto the table. “Stop joking about that!”

She looked at him surprised, eyes wide. Tom noticed she was wearing mascara today. He blinked that thought gone before he got distracted. “Sorry.” Her voice was soft. She smiled at him sweetly and then grabbed his hands. “I’ll scout the lake this afternoon. We have a couple of weeks yet to find a way. Don’t worry!”

~meanwhile~

Rita hadn’t realized how hard it was to make the potion. Her room was a mess, and she had wasted money on three now ruined cauldrons! She scowled and realized she’d have to get more evidence. She completely ruined her photographs.

~two weeks later~

Harry frowned at the article that Rita wrote. It was about her and Albus, not so subtly hinting at less than professional relations between them. The students were whispering to each other. And Harry’s cheeks burned.

Albus looked furious behind his smiling, wrinkled facade. The teachers stayed away from both him and Severus Snape. The Potions Professor had been on a warpath lately, allotting the most detentions ever, since his first semester at the school.

Harry pulled up her mother’s notes from her potion textbooks and started reading. It helped calm her down. Swallowing, she bit her lip and hoped that everything would blow over soon. Karina was undoubtedly talking to Skeeter now about it.

Meanwhile, Pansy was reading the bloody article at every moment she could.

_ “…and perhaps this was why the famed Miss Potter was able to get included in such an elite tournament? It is certainly food for thought, and hopefully, the young girl can be guided and cared for as the Girl Who Lived certainly deserves.  _

_ In her life filled with misery and lovelessness, it is no wonder that she would grasp at anything and anyone. It also gives cause to wonder who instigated this possible tryst.  _

_ If anything, we should be concerned and caring for our children’s well being.” _

Pansy smiled nastily. “Is that how you get all those A’s, Potter?”

“No, Miss Parkinson.” The girl whirled around and paled at the sight of the Headmaster. Albus smiled at her. “All the students here who receive A’s, get them through hard work and study. Including yourself. Have a good day, Miss Parkinson.”

The girl scurried off. Albus looked around the student body at the Great Hall. They looked away almost immediately. He sighed, obviously sad for the idiots that were in the majority of the up and coming generation. 

With that, he walked out of the hall.

The teachers continued on as if nothing had happened. Classes started up, homework for the break was graded and more was given.

Severus continued to dole out detentions at an alarming rate, even Filch had trouble keeping up.

Meanwhile, Harry and Tom tried to find a way to live underwater for an hour.

~weeks go by~

Rita was getting irritated. They were acting completely normal.

~meanwhile~

Albus studied the article written by Skeeter. It bothered him. Not because of the scandalous lies printed in it, but because of the alarming truths included in it. He and Harriet  _ were _ talking at the Hog’s Head. She  _ had _ grabbed his arm exactly as described. They  _ had _ been sitting quite close. They _had_ had drinks together.  But the Hog’s Head had been closed during that time. He would have noticed and sensed anyone in it under any disillusionment charm or cloak.  _ Harry  _ would have too.  The question that bothered him was  _ how _ . How had Skeeter known all this? As a matter of fact, how had she known any of the information she wrote about? How had she heard about Hagrid? How had she known about anything she had written about in the past?!

He scrubbed at his face and shoved himself away from his desk. He was getting nowhere.

Grindelwald had obviously heard about the allegations if Albus and Harriet having an...illegal love affair. Gellert's  anger had been simmering along their bond for days now. Albus blocked it off ruthlessly.

~three days before the task~

Tom stared at Harry’s potion books. He sighed and flipped through them lazily, waiting for Harry to come back from scouting the lake. They had seen Krum doing the same. Hermione and Ron were with her, so he really wasn’t afraid for her. Just bored.

He looked up when Blaise walked into the Slytherin Common Room. “Aren’t those Harry’s?”

“She leant them to me.” He waved the potion book for fourth years in the air before going back to reading it. “Just trying to pass the time.”

“Looking for a potion?”

“What?” Tom looked up at him. Blaise shrugged.

“Just wondering if you were using them to look for a water breathing potion. You know, like Polyjuice, something that could turn you into a fish or-”

“MERLIN’S BEARD! A POTION?! I’M AN IDIOT!” Tom tore out of the commons as fast as he could, leaving Nagini to guard the books. She curled around them and fell asleep.

Blaise blinked in surprise. “Wow.”

It was a testament to Tom’s desperation that he barged into Snape’s office after class hours and without invitation. He frowned when he saw a man who looked like Dumbledore smirking at a fuming Snape.

“So I’ll need you to get on that cleaning right away,  _ Sevvie. _ After all, it’s my  _ favor  _ for you.”

“If you value your life, then  _ leave _ .” The words were a sibilant hiss.  At first Tom thought Snape was talking to  _ him _ , but the man just laughed and left. Tom couldn’t help his backstep when Severus Snape leveled that glare on him.  “And  _ what _ do  _ you _ want?”

“I- I need to know if a potion exists that would allow a person to breathe underwater. A potion or an ingredient. You only need to tell me yes. I’ll do the rest. I won’t waste your time.”

Severus stared at him for a long moment, and then, he nodded. “I will not only tell you, yes, I will get you the ingredient necessary, but you must do something in return.”

“What is it?” Tom didn’t bat an eye. A favor for a favor was practically Slytherin’s motto.

“I will need you to become my TA until you graduate.” Severus’ own workload was getting heavy. Learning Necromancy, and now these  _ favors _ he needed to perform, were really eating into his scheduled grading time. He was finding it hard to keep up.

Tom blinked and then nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Excellent. The ingredient you’re looking for is Gillyweed. Saltwater Gillyweed will kill you if used in freshwater. Freshwater Gillyweed will paralyze you if used in saltwater. I have both. Which do you need?”

“Freshwater.” Tom swallowed in relief. 

Nodding, Snape left and then came back with an entire jar of it. “One piece will last an hour, more or less. It depends on the metabolism of the consumer.”

“That’s perfect! Thank you.”

“Now, grade these. I will return before curfew. If I find you’ve made an error, then I will switch the freshwater gillyweed with saltwater without you knowing it.” Snape swept out of the office. 

Tom stared at the two foot high pile of homework and groaned. He set the jar aside and started the task.  He couldn’t help but write helpful notations on the margins of the papers, pointing the student in the right direction. He even corrected grammar and wrote down titles of books where they could find the information needed.  By the time Snape returned, Tom was just finishing. His hand was cramping up.

Nodding, Snape didn’t even look at the scrolls before putting them all in the desk allotted for second years. “Tomorrow during lunch you will grade these exams. You’ll find I have everything organized.” He pointed to his filing cabinet on the left. “These are where the homework yet to be graded are kept. Once you are done, simply put them in the corresponding cabinet to the right with the correct year and class houses. This is my schedule. First period on Mondays and Wednesdays are seventh years with Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Second period on Mondays and Wednesdays is second years with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws. You can see the pattern. The cabinets match exactly. Do not mess up.”

“Yes Professor.”

“Good. Now leave.”

Tom held back a sigh. “Goodnight, Professor.” He hurried out before Snape changed his mind about letting him leave.  It was about forty minutes before curfew. Tom hurried over to the Gryffindor corridor and saw George about to enter. “Wait! Can you tell Harry to come out?”

George faltered and then frowned. “Since you’re part of the tournament team, I don’t see why you can’t just come inside. After all, there aren’t any rules.” He held open the portrait. The Fat Lady was gobsmacked.

“Well! This is the first Slytherin I’ve ever let into this dorm!”

She went ignored. Tom blinked at the garishness of the commons. “Wow. That’s a lot of…red.” 

George laughed and shook his head. “It took a lot of getting use to, yeah. Wait here, Tom.” He grabbed Ginny’s attention. “Tom’s here wanting to see Harry.”

Ginny blinked and then rushed over to hug him. “I’ll go get her. Thanks for letting him in, George.”

A moment later, Harry hurried down. She stopped and smiled at the incongruous sight of a Slytherin surrounded by Gryffindor colors. “Wow. Never thought I’d see you ever look this uncomfortable.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “I found a potion ingredient that can let us breathe underwater.”

Eyes widening, Harry grabbed his hands and pulled him to the nearest sofa. “Tell me!”

“I had to sell my soul to get it, but it’s gillyweed, specifically freshwater gillyweed. Snape found it for me in exchange for me becoming his teacher’s assistant.” Tom grunted. “I think my hand’s about to fall off. I just spent three hours doing nothing but grading.”

The twins grinned in unison and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Heya Tom, you think you could let our exams slide on by?”

“Not a chance.”

“But we can-”

“No way in hell.”

The twins sulked off. “You’re mean.”

Rolling his eyes, Tom snorted. “Lazy ass brothers they are. I’m sad that I’m stuck with them.” He was smiling internally though. It was nice having brothers. He still wasn’t used to it. The feeling of not being alone or despised.

He grabbed Harry’s hand. “How are you doing with the water?”

She smiled tremulously. “Managing. It’s actually really good for me to do this. I’ve lived too long afraid of it.” He smiled at her with pride.

“Good on you. We’ll win this task easy.” She looked worried. 

“What do you think it means when it’s gone forever? The thing we would most miss.”

“Well, they definitely wouldn’t kill whoever it is they steal. Dumbledore wouldn’t allow that.” Harry swallowed, still uneasy. Tom smiled at her encouragingly. “It’ll be fine, Harry. You’ll see.”

She nodded slowly and tried to smile.


	20. Masks of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Albus starts it. Canon? What's canon? I go more for heavy angst-filled irony. *whistles innocently

~two days before tasks~

Albus looked up when a postman arrived at his home. It was from the club, sent to him via a Muggle letter way. Albus was fascinated. He hurried up to the man without his old man looks. 

“Thank you very much, sir!” He searched the man’s mind to see if he needed to pay him. Nope. Excellent. Albus nodded to him and then hurried back inside before his brother could see him.

_ ‘To Arnold, your interest in our client has been noted. We have given him your file containing your background, photograph, and offer, and he has accepted you. This is the address that he has agreed to send to you. The meeting will be tomorrow at six. Remember, as per our, policy twenty percent of your fee is our payment. Your banking information has been noted. _

_ Thank you for your business, _

_ The Blue Kitten Club’ _

Albus wrinkled his nose and then tossed the letter into the fire. “Finally.” Albus knew what he promised Aberforth, but honestly, he could use some downtime. Crouch didn’t look old. He was actually in a very good figure for his age. Albus was older than him and wouldn’t mind playing to the man’s whims if it helped him relax some too.

“I can’t get diseases anyway, and I doubt Crouch has any.” He smiled and nodded. He’d play it by ear tomorrow night. Albus’ favor for Severus would be for the man to distract Aberforth while he was gone all night. Albus grinned.

~day of the task~

Albus smiled and stretched. He knew immediately that he was alone in the cottage, but that was fine. He reached over the bed and grabbed his pants and trousers. He needed to hurry to his home to dress and then get to the school. He was one of the judges after all.

A pensive frown came over his face as he thought about what he discovered the night before. Crouch had been heavily Imperiused and then had his mind wiped on who did it. He looked sickly lately because of the curses, but he wasn’t actually ill. And all the times he was absent from work was when he was off doing who knew what for whoever the mystery person was.

Albus would bet all his money that it was a follower of Grindelwald following the chained man’s orders. He apparated back to his home and quickly got ready, neatly avoiding his brother’s sleeping form in the chair beside the fireplace.

Guilt seeped into Albus as he realized that Aberforth had been waiting up for him to get home. Shaking his head, he inhaled slowly and quickly cleaned himself up with a spell. The task would begin in twenty minutes. He wrote a note to his brother and then shadow traveled away as quickly as he could.

~meanwhile~

Harry and Tom already knew who were missing for them.

“They took Ron!”

Tom gritted his teeth. “They took Nagini. I’m going to fucking murder them all.” His eyes were cold and hard with rage. No one took his familiar.

Wincing, Harry swallowed. “They wouldn’t harm them, would they? I can’t lose my friends, Tom. I can’t…”

He pulled her into a tight hug. “They wouldn’t murder a student, Harry.”

“Right. Right.” Taking a steadying breath, Harry nodded. “Okay, this is the path I’ve found is best. It avoids the grindylows and the giant squid. Also, the eels too.” She pulled out her map and showed him everything. He nodded and started asking questions.

Before they knew it, they had to head to the docks.

Harry was feeling skittish. What she hadn’t told Tom was that she always started to hyperventilate before going in. Ron had been the only one who knew how to talk her down from her panic attacks. Hermione didn’t know how. She was too analytical. Only Ron had that calming presence.

_ I can’t do this. I can’t- _

“Harriet.” She looked up sharply and saw Death standing there on the dock. “You will not fail. And I will not let them die.” He smiled at her. “You’ll be fine.”

Taking a deep breath and holding it for ten seconds, she released it slowly and nodded. “Right.”

Tom pulled out the weed and handed her one. He grabbed her hand and smiled. “Together.”

Smiling back, she nodded. “Yeah.” They ate the weed together. Bagman was crowing about their choice. They felt the webbing form and the gills shape too.

Jumping into the water quickly, they took a moment to get used to their gills before swimming in the pre-chosen direction. Harry had to make sure her breathing was steady. Panic was thrumming underneath her skin.

She knew that her fear of going dark and evil was greater than her fear of the water, but it didn’t make her fear of water any less. It only made her fear of going evil worse. 

They didn’t meet any grindylows or eels on the way. Tom was proud for Harry’s mapmaking skills. When they got to the village, they had about forty minutes left. Tom saw Hermione and Ron chained to rocks in the center. And Nagini was in a cage that was chained. They swam immediately toward it.

Tom pulled out his wand and disintegrated the cage and wrapped his sleeping familiar around his neck. 

Harry used her shadows to cut through the chains of all the prisoners. This caused the Mers to interfere. When she tried to pull the prisoners up, they grabbed her ankles and dragged her down, pressing her into the sand. Tom grabbed Ron and shoved him upward. Then he moved to rescue a thoroughly terrified Harry.

She was hyperventilating and lashing out. Tom pulled his wand out and brandished it threateningly. The Mers backed off. Harry curled up into a ball and refused to budge. Krum and Green showed up. Krum grabbed Hermione’s free floating body and then faltered at the sight of a tremoring Harry. Tom signaled that everything was fine.

Krum nodded- as much as he could with a shark head. Both he and Green grabbed their charges and swam away. Hermione and Pansy were freed now.

Tom pulled a shaking Harry into his arms. They only had ten minutes left.

Making sure Nagini was still around him, he freed Fleur’s sister with Harry’s wand, and then Jean’s brother also. The Mers glowered at him, but didn’t interfere. With all of them resting on him, Tom used a propulsion sharm to lifted them all to the surface.

When they broke the skin of the water, they woke up. Nagini started hissing and thrashing.

_ “I am not a water moccasin! Get me OUT OF HERE!” _

Tom rushed them both to the shore. “Madam Pomfrey! HELP ME!”

The cheering stopped as they realized that Harry was very still. The healer rushed up and pulled them into a tent.

“She’s in deep shock! What happened?!”

Breathing heavily, Tom noticed that Sirius had hurried in. He guessed it was alright for the guardian to know. “When she was a kid, her uncle used to punish her by shoving her head under the water in the bathtub.” Tom licked his lips and clenched his fists tightly. “She inhaled water a lot and developed an intense fear of going underwater. When she tried to free  _ all _ the prisoners in the task, the Mers attacked her and dragged her away and pushed her down. She got…triggered. Her magic lashed out violently, destroying some of the huts. The Mers finally backed off when I threatened them with my wand. When the Mers backed off, she just…stopped responding.” Tom scrubbed tears away. “Help her!”

Scowling with concern for the girl and anger at those monstrous Muggles, Pomfrey cast a sleeping spell over her. The girl’s body relaxed. “She is sleeping without dreams. When she wakes up, she’ll be a bit confused, but rested. Leave now. For the next forty-eight hours, she cannot have any shocks or surprises.” Sirius nodded and then sat down next to his goddaughter. 

“I’m going to stay with her. I want her to have a familiar face when she wakes up.” Pomfrey smiled at the man.

“An excellent idea.” Turning to Tom, she nodded. “Go on now. I’ll explain it to the judges without going into detail. She’ll be fine, Mr. Riddle.”

Hesitating a moment, Tom finally nodded and walked out. He checked on a very disgruntled Nagini and then sat down next to Ron and Hermione. His gang surrounded him.

“Did Harry have an episode?” Ron’s voice was faint. Tom nodded. Hermione whimpered in sadness for her friend.

“Was it bad?”

“Yeah. Pretty bad.” He didn’t look at them. “She’s been put to sleep for now. Forty-eight hours of silence and rest.” Hermione covered her mouth with her hands.

Everyone watched as Pomfrey spoke to the judges quietly. The champions were confused. Fleur was overjoyed that her sister was safe. Jean, too, was in Tom’s debt. But when Tom had made it clear that he was only doing what Harry had wanted, they quickly promised to thank the girl too for her selflessness.

Tom looked over at Albus Dumbledore. The man looked grave and just a tiny bit angry. Tom knew that if he could see the anger, then Dumbledore was fucking  _ enraged. _ He grinned slowly. 

The judges began their judging. Krum and Green got full points for returning within the hour and with their prisoners safely retrieved. Fleur and Jean, having got stuck on the grindylows and failed to retrieve the prisoners, got the lowest score.

Tom held his breath.

Bagman stood up. “It has come to our attention, that though Tom Riddle and Harriet Potter came in last, they were the first to arrive to the village and free their captives. However, due to their insistence on retrieving everyone, the Mers tried to stop them. In this altercation, Miss Potter suffered severe trauma, and Mr Riddle was forced to take up her desire of seeing everyone to safety, including his own partner, who had been rendered unconscious. Most judges,” he shot Karkaroff a very nasty look, “view this as brave, courageous, and of moral-fiber. They believed that this deserved full marks, however, their score is forty-five points.” The Gryffindors and Slytherins cheered. That was a pretty good score all around. 

Tom didn’t care. He only wanted to see Harry smile again and do her crazy cartwheels in the corridors.

He was approached by Albus Dumbledore that night. “Sirius and Severus are coming with me to visit a certain family. Care to have some catharsis?” 

Showing a feral grin, Tom nodded. “May I burn the house?”

“Ahem, well, not quite.” Albus handed him a mask and a cloak with a hood. 

The mask Severus had was ornately carved. It kinda looked like a Day of the Dead mask, but with slanted eye holes and slats over the mouthpiece. It was bone white and looked actually pretty terrifying.

Sirius’ mask was gold with silver inlay. There were swirls all around it like snakes. The mouth looked like it had been stitched over with golden thread.

Albus’ was blood red around the mouth and eyes and black everywhere else. 

Looking at his own mask, Tom smiled. It was Killing Curse green with eerie silver threads carved into the bone. The silver was spelled to glow in the dark.

“These masks will disguise our voices, and the hoods will hide our shapes and sizes. Hurry now!” Albus smiled at the three beside him. “Let’s hunt some Muggles.” He paused and turned to Tom. “But do try not to make a habit of this. Not all Muggles are evil, deserving to be torn to shreds.” 

Tom snorted and nodded, slipping the mask on and putting on the hood. “I know.” They grabbed hands and apparated to Privet Drive. 

Severus and Sirius enjoyed setting Petunia’s garden on fire. Tom enjoyed bouncing Vernon Dursley in the air and making him freefall until a foot from the ground. He was pretty sure he could smell the man’s piss staining his sleep pants. Albus had cursed the boy, Dudley, to turn into a pig for an hour if he ever criticized his cousin. He cursed Petunia to turn into a horse if she ever called her anything but her name. And he cursed Vernon to turn into a walrus if her ever called Harry ‘that girl’. 

When their chaos had been spread, Tom grinned and shot a spell into the sky, the idea of the mask’s design still on his mind. It was a skull with a snake slithering through its eye socket and mouth. With that, he set the roof on fire and then disapparated with the others.

Severus was immediately asking him what that spell was. Tom shrugged. “Just thought it up. It manipulates the clouds and makes them into whatever shape I want.”

Grinning, Sirius nodded and high fived him. “Nice!” Tom grinned. 

They gave their masks and hoods to Albus, who promptly hid them, and then they bid each other good night. Harry had been nicely avenged.

Not that she would ever know they did this of course.

~two days later~

Harry was relieved to finally be out of the healing ward. However, the first thing she heard the moment she was free was that Tom, Albus, Sirius, and Severus went on a night excursion the night she suffered that massive panic attack. Death told her how he had followed them to the Dursleys and proceeded to watch them terrorize the literal pee out of them. The god had enjoyed the entertainment greatly.

Scowling angrily, she marched up to Albus’ office, speaking into Severus’, Tom’s, and Sirius minds while she did so.  _ ‘Headmaster’s office. Now.’ _

They hurried, all set to defend themselves.

When they had all gathered, Harry glowered at them. “Do you mean to tell me that you attacked a non-magic using family with magic? You terrorized a fourteen year old boy, and two middle aged humans who couldn’t defend themselves? You made them have nightmares, and turned them into animals?! You did all of this- WITHOUT ME?!” She stomped her foot and huffed. “I wanted to see Vernon pee himself!”

After a moment of shock, they looked at each other, not ashamed to show their relief that she wasn’t angry or disappointed or about to cry. Then Albus chuckled before bursting out into laughter. Shaking his head, he went to a cupboard and pulled out his Pensieve. “That can be easily remedied. Boys, time to pull out your memories and share them.”

They all grinned and did as he said. Harry quickly submerged herself to enjoy the memories. Tom smiled as he enjoyed the view of her tush as she bent over the Pensieve.

Sirius nudged him. “Eyes elsewhere, Mister. That’s my goddaughter.”

Blushing hotly, Tom looked away. “How did you even-”

“I’m a guy. I know where our temptations lie.” Sirius smirked down at him.

When Harry came back up, she was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. “And how long will those curses last, Headmaster?!” Her eyes were bright. Tom was thankful she was smiling again.

Albus chuckled. “Forever, I think. Those spells were my own creation, so the Ministry cannot undo them.”

Smiling savagely, Severus spoke up. “And considering how stupid they are, they won’t know what triggers the shift, so it’ll happen over and over and over again until they find out.” That set Harry off again.

Sirius smirked. “I cursed the garden to only grow lilies.” Tom grinned and coughed behind a hand.

“Their roof is forever on fire until the Ministry figures out how to break my spell. It won’t burn anything, but it  _ will _ keep on flaming up. How the neighbors will stare at the strange abnormalness of the Dursleys  _ now _ .” His eyes glinted.

Harry’s returning smile was one of pure satisfaction. “At least I can live vicariously through you.” 

They all shared a laugh and then went their separate ways.

~the next day~

Aberforth charged into Albus’ office and glared at him. “Think you’re pretty smart, don’t you?! Using Snape to keep me off the scent! It’s taken days to pin you down, but I finally have!”

Sighing plaintively, Albus leaned back into his chair and summoned a seat for his brother. “Before you start shouting at me, let me at least tell you what I heard.” His brother paused and then impatiently waved his hand. Albus smiled indulgently. “After I got Crouch nice and drunk, I gently grilled him about his family. He told me the same story that is public knowledge, without the magic, but when he started slipping and talking about Azkaban and dementors, I knew he was telling the truth.” Albus shrugged. 

“However, just before he passed out, he mumbled something about having to tell Albus about his son. How he needed to confess what he’d done.” Albus frowned and shook his head. “I tried getting into his mind, but it was too scrambled from the drink and the repeated mind wipes that I couldn’t get anything. His  _ soul _ was wiped too, which is very worrisome. Of Grindelwald’s inner circle only a few were trained in Death Magic. Barty Crouch Junior was one of those people.” Standing up, the wizard sighed. “All I know is that Crouch did something illegal concerning his son and wanted to confess it to me. Now as Albus Dumbledore, I can’t get near him. He’s gone missing again.” He looked supremely frustrated.

“Barty Junior is dead, Albus. I saw it happen. I saw his corpse buried.” Crossing his arms, Aberforth exhaled. “So you sold your body for drunken ramblings.”

“Nope. I didn’t. You’re a very judgemental person, did you know that, Ab?” There was a twinkle in Albus’ eyes. “I had a very relaxing time gathering information and unwinding and being given money all at the same time! Very good night all around.” He smirked. “And Crouch wasn’t complaining either.”

Showing a disgusted look at him, Aberforth scoffed. “I do  _ not _ need to know my brother’s sex life. Shut your gob! What’s there to see about the male body anyway?!” He shot his hands up and waved them around. “Nevermind! Don’t answer!”

Grinning outright now, Albus spoke up slyly. “Just because you’re asexual does not mean I have to be celibate.”

“I am  _ not _ asexual! I just don’t see the point of sex! At least not without a deeper bond, and  _ that’s _ more fulfilling than any sexual encounter anyway!” He scoffed and turned away.

Albus pointedly raised an eyebrow. “Right. You’re not asexual at all.”

Growling, Aberforth stormed out of the office. Albus smirked after him.


	21. Too Many Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you solve a problem like Rita Skeeter?   
> Hermione figures things out and recruits an unlikely alley.

~weeks later~

Harry shivered at the icy winds. She hurried inside with her friends, thankful that Herbology was done for the week. Sitting beside the fireplace in the kitchens with Tom, Ron, and Hermione, Harry drank her delicious cocoa.

Eyes closed, Tom moaned softly. “This is flawless cocoa.”

Sniffing indignantly, Hermione muttered something about slavery drinks and crossed her arms. 

Eye cracking open, Tom shot her a deadly look and then proceeded to ignore her. Ron, for once, didn’t begin bickering. 

“Miss Potter! Miss Potter! Dobby did as you said! Dobby became involved with Winky!” Dobby beamed at them all. 

Tom choked and tried to breathe. “Merlin, I hope he doesn’t mean what I think he means.” Ron looked ill.

Frowning, Hermione blinked. “Wait, how do House Elves form? Dobby-”

“NO!” Ron covered her mouth. “Don’t ask while I’m still within hearing range! Please!”

She pushed his hand away and scowled. “You’re so immature.”

Looking slightly ill, Harry grinned and winked at Tom. “Well, I can’t really blame them. Anyway, Dobby, you were saying?”

Dobby grinned widely. “Dobby became friends with Winky of the Crouch House. She says she gots important, secret job of giving ingredients to Hogwarts and Numenor Tower!”

Harry went still. “Dobby, do you mean  _ Numengard _ Tower?”

Nodding until his ears started flapping, Dobby grinned. “Yes! Dobby means that! Winky gives very special potion ingredients, and Winky is very proud that she never messes up the potions. Very important to her young master.”

Hermione frowned. “Young? But Crouch is really old.” Ron shrugged. 

“Maybe House Elves don’t get ages?”

“Continue Dobby.”

“That’s is all, Miss Potter!” Dobby lifted his skinny arms up in a shrug. “Winky refused to say no more!”

“Yes…Thank you, Dobby.” Harry smiled at him. “You’ve done a very good job. I’m very grateful.”

Dobby’s eyes welled up with tears. “Dobby has Harry Potter’s gratefulness?! Dobby is the happiest Elf in the whole world!” He began sobbing uncontrollably.

Tom raised an eyebrow. “Dobby has issues.” Hermione whacked him lightly and then went back to easing the Elf’s tears.

When they went down for breakfast the next day, the article that both Hermione and Blaise had originally dismissed so easily about him cheating on Harry with Hermione- which had caused Harry to begin her illicit affair with the Headmaster (cue gasps)- had begun to garner some extreme fan based reactions.

Harry watched as howlers rained upon Blaise and truly painful potions seeped out of envelopes and onto Hermione. Albus, curiously enough, didn’t receive anything. He spoke to her mind.

_ ‘I have McGonagall filter my mail. I will make sure the same is done for both Blaise and Hermione. Karina has tried to stop the vixen, but Skeeter seems obstinate and unafraid of retribution. I wonder if she knows things about our class, and how…’ _

‘ _ You’re right. For her to so blatantly disobey her new boss like this and print trash about her son, makes me think she’s got something on Karina specifically. The only thing that could be is the Necromancy. I need proof.’ _

_ ‘Of course. I’ll find out as soon as I can.’ _ Albus turned away and focused on something else at the teacher table.

Harry looked over at Krum and rolled her eyes. Did the idiot truly believe the article? Skeeter was making Hermione look like a slut, hopping from one boy to another and breaking up romances with Love Potions.  Hermione spoke to Harry later about it. “How would Skeeter know about Krum asking me to go to his home in the summer? He only just asked me when he saved me from the Mers.”  Tom grunted and scowled at his book. He was in a bad mood. Blaise was making himself scarce.

When their lunch was up, they headed to Care of Magical Creatures.

As time went on, the mail sent to Blaise and Hermione increased, and the mutterings around them also increased. Harry was getting sick of it, but she encouraged Hermione to find out how Skeeter was figuring these things out.  As the days progressed, it came time for the next hint about the task. Or rather, it wasn’t really a hint as a mere set of instructions. They would have to clear a maze and get to the trophy first.

Simple.

Tom grinned at her. She smiled back. 

Due to the press about her love life, Harry had stopped her quest of flirting her way onto the Durmstrang ship. But, Krum solved her problem for her. He dragged her to the ship when it was just before lunchtime and started quizzing her about Hermione’s honesty.  Patiently, Harry set him straight on Skeeter’s less than honest review of Hermione’s character.  Krum was much happier and so was Harry, because Karkaroff had just stepped onto the deck of the ship. She scanned his soul and knew immediately that he wasn’t the person Moody and Crouch were after. He was actually trying to plan a way to escape Grindelwald and not return to Durmstrang. The man was petrified.  Sighing, Harry shook her head and rowed her way back to shore with Krum and Karkaroff. Another dead end.

Crouch and Moody were doing something here that involved Polyjuice. Crouch had done something to his son and wanted to confess to Albus. Karkaroff was not the target, and neither was Snape. Who was? Who set her and Tom up to be champions in the first place? This stank of Grindelwald, but how? Where were his followers hiding? 

Albus had scanned Moody, and the man knew answers to Albus’ questions that only Moody would know. 

And Grindelwald was in  _ prison _ . 

It was driving Harry spare.

And only a few days later, Harry came upon Crouch’s dying body. “Shit.” Looking around, she swiftly tried to slip energy back into his body, but he wasn’t reacting well to it. It only gave him enough strength to start telling her about Grindelwald gaining power, playing a trick on them.

“He’s here. He’s already here! You…must tell Albus. I’m sorry! My son-”  He was just starting to tell her what he needed to tell Dumbledore when she sensed someone behind her. Death shouted at her in warning but everything went black.  When she came to, Dumbledore, Severus, and Karkaroff were talking loudly to each other. Krum was holding her.

“Someone Imperiused my student! This is a trap! An ambush!”

She groaned. “Shut the fuck up.”

They all went silent. Krum explained softly that someone Imperiused him to knock her out. 

Crouch was dead. When Harry tried to move, she immediately felt nausea. “Shoot. I think I’ve got a concussion.” Severus took her from Krum’s arms and slowly took her to the castle. Hagrid was glowering at Krum and Karkaroff in a very threatening manner. Snape explained that Hagrid had grabbed Karkaroff and slammed him into a tree for spitting on Albus’ shoes.

Eyes widening, Harry gently shook her head. “Still waters.”

“Exactly.”

~the next morning~

Harry had explained what Crouch had said and immediately Albus went to the prison to check for himself. He came back frowning.

“It’s him, but he’s not gloating, not…not flirting. He’s changed. Crouch is right. He’s playing a game.”  This didn’t make any of them feel better.  Of course, both Sirius and Tom were pissed off at her for going off into the woods anyway. They lectured her in unison. Making her headache worse.

Pretty soon, as the day progressed, Harry found herself in her most hated class. Divinations.  The Durmstrang students were sitting in too. Harry grunted slightly and stumbled. Ron caught her. “You okay?”

“This concussion is making my mental walls go weak. I hate it. Is this how regular people feel? I feel almost naked.” She rubbed her forehead and tried to concentrate on Trelawney, but about halfway through Harry felt absolute agony lance through her soul and mind. Someone was attacking her soul!  Letting out a scream, she gripped her head and tried to fend off the mysterious attacker. The magic tasted of Grindelwald, but he had no magic! He couldn't have. Albus checked him nearly daily! She lashed back and shoved her way into his soul. Two could play at this game. She saw snippets. Wormtail screaming, Crouch vomiting, another man laughing insanely and kicking Crouch. The images shut off.  Gritting her teeth, Harry tasted blood and felt like her vision was splitting in two. Finally, she locked up her soul and then immediately collapsed onto the ground, coughing blood.

When she woke up a short while later, everyone in the castle knew of her attack and collapse. Also, she croakily told Albus what she saw. “I don’t know what he saw in turn, but I’m going to assume everything and go from there.”

The Headmaster was pacing. “How is he doing this?! He knows of Pettigrew. He had control of Crouch. There are too many questions! Is someone faking him in the tower? If so, then why is it his magic? Who is inside the school? Is it Moody? How can he know all the answers? And where is my friend if this Moody is the fake? There is no proof to answer our questions. Everything is speculation!”

Harry sighed weakly. “Yeah.”

And while rumors of who attacked and killed Crouch and who attacked Krum circled around, nothing hit the school quite as hard as Skeeter’s last article. Exclusive interview with Pansy Parkinson.

_ 'Deranged and Dangerous!' _

Harry started laughing the moment she saw the title alone. Then, she set it on fire and walked out of the hall grinning. “We already  _ knew _ that!” She flashed Tom a smile and then closed the doors behind her. 

However, Hermione was frowning thoughtfully. “Bugged. Bugged.” She gasped and shot straight up. “Oh, of course!” With that, she rushed off and raced straight to the nearest cemetery beside the school. She could have waited for Harry, but her friend was busy looking up hexes and self-defense spells to use instead of her Necromancer abilities. Tom was helping her. 

Biting her lip, she circled around. “Death! I need you to come here! I know I’m just human and not even a Necromancer, but I need you to listen to me!” She closed her eyes and then felt a sharp drop in temperature.  Breathing unsteadily, she spoke. “I think Rita Skeeter knows too much. She’s an animagus! She has to be! She can change into a beetle! I saw a beetle leaving Hog’s Head Tavern after Harry and Dumbledore talked in that Language of Death! Harry mentioned hearing a beetle after the mock battle  _ and _ during her attack while in Divs. I saw the same beetle in the healing ward! I  _ know _ that Skeeter knows about Harry being a Necromancer and about the others! She has  _ got to be stopped!  _ If you can't do anything about it, then please warn Harry! If I find her first then, I'll warn her, but Skeeter can't be allowed to hurt Harry! ” Suddenly, the air got even colder and then went back to normal. Hermione swallowed shakily. "Thank you." Death was going to fix this.  At least..she hoped so.

If he didn't, then she'd track down Skeeter and put a pin in the woman herself.

~meanwhile~

Scythe twitching in his clenched hand, Death appeared in Skeeter’s office. She was laughing to herself and looking over the photos she had managed to take and develop. “This will be enough to screw that girl over for good. And Dumbledore will pay a pretty penny to keep me silent. This paper could even be mine and not that Necromancer bitch Zabini!” She grinned and then turned sharply and paled. Her scream was silenced by his magic.

Death cracked his neck and then grinned with his skull-like smile. His hood covered only part of his skeletal face. “So, you think you can harm my followers? My favored student? That simply won’t do, Miss Skeeter. I have suffered enough at the hands of the Mighty Ministry. Too many of my followers have been slaughtered and betrayed by selfish and greedy people like you.” He lifted his scythe and let the light play against the blade, flashing across her face. 

“I- I- I can see you! How?!” She backed into her desk, knocking things off it, scrambling for her wand.

“Oh, that’s simple. When I’m about to collect souls, I can be seen by anyone.” He gave a hollow chuckle.

“Who’s- who’s s-soul?” Her eyes were wide. She had found her wand and was gripping it tightly.

Death went silent for a moment before raising his scythe. “Why…yours of course. I think you know by now..." The room got colder. "You're in over your head."

The woman snapped her wand up, but the spell flew through him harmlessly and hit the wall. The scythe’s sharp, black blade went up. Rita Skeeter flinched back and screamed.

The scythe came down.

Her scream cut off. 

Death held the soul of the vicious woman and contemplated it. “And so ends the tyrannical rule of a woman led by greed and venom. Foolish woman would have lived a long life...if she hadn't targeted my apprentice. Hmm…yes, Lake of Fire for you, Ms Skeeter.” He ripped a tear between the worlds and tossed the blackened soul through it before sealing the doorway. “Easy peasy.”

With a twirl of his scythe, he vanished.

~third task~

Breakfast was a tense time. Harry was exempt from exams, but she had been studying with Tom for navigational spells, healing spells, defensive and offensive spells. They had been practicing together, dueling nightly.

“I find it weird that Skeeter chooses now to go silent. She’s missing from work. Karina is confused.” Harry frowned in worry. "She had us pinned. I know she did. Why is she missing?"  Hermione gulped silently and chose not to answer, though she sent a silent thank you to Thanatos.

Harry sighed and then frowned deeper when Tom hurried up to her.  “Harry, Snape told me that the family is coming for the third task.” He stole a grape from Ron. 

Crossing her arms, Harry nodded. “Are we supposed to have a party or photos or something?”

“Dunno, but we’re supposed to all get together after breakfast.” Tom made a face. “Personally, I would rather not see Mrs Weasley and Sirius start fighting again.”  With a groan, Harry rubbed her face. They had been getting worse. Molly was shipping her Tom and Harry together, but Sirius didn’t want Harry to  _ marry down _ . Tom didn’t take offense. He knew it wasn’t against him, just Molly Weasley. Besides, he couldn’t  _ afford  _ to take offense with Harry’s godfather. 

They went off to the meetup and saw Sirius already arguing heatedly. Remus sighed and approached her to give her a hug. “Sorry, about all this. I know this is bringing even more attention to you.” And  Sirius was certainly attracting attention, but not because of his shouting. He was beginning to look really good. The time out of Azkaban had given him a chance to gain weight, muscles, and grow out the grey hair. It had turned back to black hair once the stress from the dementors was gone. Sirius was incredibly handsome and the upper year girls were noticing that. That and the Black Fortune made him a very attractive wizard.

Harry groaned and then gave Remus another hug. “It’s fine.”

“Well, it was my Tom who saved your daughter! How’s that for the lower classes?!” Molly was right up in Sirius’ face.

Tom rolled his eyes. “Right children, aren’t they?” Harry smirked.  The day was spent pleasantly, Harry and Remus had to keep Sirius away from Molly though.

Keeping an eye on the time, Harry smiled at Albus. He smiled back and continued playing with his new gold pocket watch. Chuckling, Harry turned away and saw Severus. The man was glowering at Sirius. She winced slightly. He had completed all the favors, but his pride was damaged, and it was Sirius’ fault.

She hoped Sirius was prepared for Severus’ response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAHH! I nearly forgot to update today! But here it is!   
> Better late than never, yea?   
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!   
> Thanks for all the comments!!! I love reading them!  
> Ink...


	22. Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It spirals out of control.

Tom grabbed her hand and led her to where the champions were waiting. Harry swallowed and smiled at him. He smiled back and then faced the maze.  Bagman said a few words and then shot off the spell, and they plunged into the bushes.  Skrewts. Boggarts. Murderous bushes. And finally a hallucinogenic fog.

“Tom?! Tom!”  Whirling around, she cursed and closed her eyes. His energy was…directly in front of her. She grabbed out and pulled whatever it was closer. He blinked and inhaled shakily.

“Why didn’t you answer?!”

“The fog makes us deaf to everyone we can’t see. The moment we leave each other’s sight-”

“We can’t hear the other person anymore. Fuck.” Tom lit his wand up and looked around. The fog was so thick he couldn’t see more than a foot away.

“Okay, okay, this is fine. We can do this.” Harry pulled off her tie and tied their hands together. “There. Now don’t leave my sight, and I won’t leave yours.” Tom grinned and nodded.

The sky above them lit up with a flare.

They shared a glance. One champion down.

Once they went passed the fog, they found themselves surrounded by Devil’s Snare. Tom screamed in rage and his magic reacted, turning the snare into ash in one blast. The heat seared her face and then there was nothing. They panted quietly and then stilled when they heard shouting. It was Krum. “Vhat are you doing?! Ve are partners! What- AHH!”

Harry jumped up and raced over to the screaming. Tom grabbed her and pulled her back just in time to avoid a dangerous looking spell.

Greene was chuckling. “Not a single one of you got it. Gerald Greene.”

“Gellert Grindelwald.” Harry’s voice was faint. “It was you all this time.” Her eyes flashed. “Then who’s in the tower?”

“Pettigrew. The coward was happy to avoid Sirius Black even if it meant sacrificing his magic.” Grindelwald laughed. “Fleur and Krum are done.” He smiled and launched a spell into the air. “I think they need medical attention.” He winked at the stunned pair and then shot a fast spell at Tom. It hit him hard in the chest. Laughing, Grindelwald smiled at Harry. “Good luck, Lovely.” He vanished. The arch he had been blocking showed the trophy on the pedestal.

Harry swallowed and looked Tom. “What did he hit you with? Are you alright? Let me examine you!”

“Harry, I’m fine. I think it’s a latent spell. We have time. Let’s win this stupid contest and then go home.” He smiled at her and then suddenly pulled her into a kiss. When he was done, he stepped back, patted her cheek softly and then rushed forward.  Running after him and cursing all the while, Harry caught up to him. He grinned at her. “Let’s do this.” His hand gripped the trophy handle.

Harry frowned when he didn’t move. “Tom?”

The boy was blinking rapidly. He inhaled sharply and shook his head. “Is…this…is this true?” He threw the trophy to the ground angrily and turned on Harry. “There was an enchantment on it, Harriet.” His eyes were sharp. “I have all the memories that I lost two years ago. I have all the memories that you took from me.” His voice became rough. “That you stole from me. Two years, one year, three years. Lies. That’s all I know about you. You’re. A. LIAR!”

His wand was out. Harry pulled up a protego spell but too late. His blast knocked her off her feet and into a man eating bush.  Tom grabbed her by her throat and yanked her out and then threw her across the clearing again.  He looked up and saw Jean hurrying up. With a snarl, Tom grabbed Harry by the hair and then grabbed the trophy and apparated away. The quidditch pitch had been disengaged just so the students could flee.  When they landed, Harry realized he had taken them to his family home. Tom tossed the trophy aside and smirked at her tauntingly. 

“Isn’t this better? We can have our lover’s quarrel in peace. But first, let’s  _ bow _ . It shows the  _ respect  _ two duelists have for each other.”

Harry jumped up and stared at him as he bowed mockingly at her. “Tom, I couldn't tell you! Grindelwald doesn’t know! He would have found out through the diary if you had known!”

The look on Tom’s face was nothing short of scathing rage. “Do I have the diary now? Bombarda Maxima!”

Harry screamed and pulled up her protection spell just in time. The fire lashed around her white sphere. She looked at Tom and realized that whatever Grindelwald had hit him with had made him completely unreasonable. His anger was to the point of murderous rage. He wouldn’t listen to anything she had to say.  “Tom, I’m so sorry.” Through her tears, Harry watched him prowl around her barrier, trying to find a way to break through. She dropped the spell and then with her rosewood wand, shouted another. “Carpe retractum!”

He snarled as the ropes bound him. With an awful smile, he hissed, “Fiendfyre!”  The ropes turned to ash as he carefully controlled the fire. It slowly morphed into an enormous fiery snake.

Harry swallowed and with one wand shouted, “Aguamenti Maxima!” With her other wand, she pointed at Tom. “Confundo!”

The fire vanished under the water and without Tom’s guidance. He snarled at her. “Confringo!” He shook off the confusion and charged her. Harry jumped behind a thick gravestone and felt the ground shake at the explosion.

She jumped up and opened her mouth to say-

“CRUCIO!”

Agony. Harry couldn’t breathe. Her nerves were melting under the excruciating pain. 

It stopped. Harry panted. “D-DEFODIO!”

Tom wheeled away, screaming as blood sprouted along his face and chest. Harry stumbled to a standing position. She gripped both her wands and breathed heavily. “Depulso!” He was shot away towards the house.  Using this as a moment to breathe, Harry slumped against a gravestone. She frowned and realized she was standing on the grave of Tom’s father. She touched it softly and then screamed as she was suddenly crushed against the ground.

“F-finite incantatem.” The spell vanished and then she did to. She appeared behind Tom and tried to wrap her shadows around him, to pin him down, to get to his soul.

“Diffindo!” The shadows temporarily broke off. Tom only needed that mere second to act. “Everte statum!”

Harry was slammed into a tree. Her grip slackened on her rosewood, and her wand fell to the ground.  Tom felt the air grow colder, but in his rage, he ignored it. 

“Flipendo duo!” “Expelliarmus!” 

Their wands locked.

Harry saw Death behind Tom. “Don’t let go, Harry. It’s the only thing stalling this fight. I’ll check his soul.” She nearly cried in relief. 

Tom snarled curses and horrible, horrible words at her. Suddenly, however, his face went lax. His eyes rolled up, and he collapsed. 

“He’s not dead. Just unconscious. Grindelwald really did a number on him. The soul spell was one of his own creations. It magnifies everything the victim is feeling. Betrayal could be turned so strong into suicide. Annoyance into rage. Anger into murderous intent. Tom was angry, and the spell transformed him into a killer.”

Harry pulled Tom’s unconscious body into her arms and cried. She gathered their wands and the trophy and traveled them back to the Hogwarts grounds. There were search parties out. Harry took them first to Albus’ office and left the trophy on his desk with a note saying she would explain later. Then she dropped Tom off at Madam Pomfrey’s. Then, she left without saying a word.

Very quiet and very still like, Harry tracked Moody to his office. She didn’t care about hiding her powers this time and ripped through his shielding like the butter it was. The man was screaming. Harry snarled and lifted him up by her shadows. She opened the veil and slipped her hand into it, summoning the last gift Death gave her.  Pulling her hand out, she smiled as Moody’s eyes widened in fear at the scythe in her hand. She spun the weapon and then slammed it into the ground, creating sparks. “You’ve caused me a lot of pain, Barty Crouch Junior. It’s time for me to return the favor. What do you think?” She enveloped the man in her shade, speaking to Albus’ mind.

_ ‘The real Moody is locked in the trunk. Tom’s in the medical ward. I’m at Crouch’s, killing his son and beating the shit out of Grindelwald. Try and stop me.’ _

Her voice was ice cold.

However, when she arrived, the house was empty. The now transforming Moody, spat at her. “Did you honestly think he would stay here?! Lord Grindelwald is no fool! You little cun-” He coughed up blood when a shadow speared into his left lung. Harry smiled at him. 

“You really,  _ really  _ shouldn’t test me. Your lord caused me to lose one of my most powerful allies. I am  _ not _ in a charitable mood.” She threw him into the nearest wall and then rendered him unconscious. Then she tied him up and vanished to the tower, bypassing the guards outside and appearing straight in the cell. “Revelio!” Her voice was a low growl.

Nothing happened. Grindelwald chuckled. “Do you really think you could outsmart me? Pet, I’ve got centuries of trickery on you.”

She charged him with a scream, but Death appeared between them. Gellert’s breath hitched in shock as he sensed the being of Death. 

“MOVE!” Harry was crying again. She glowered at Death.

“Do you honestly think it’s wise to attack a man who doesn’t have the blood rune? You are still not  _ immortal _ , Harriet.”

Green eyes widened in shock at what had almost happened. Grindelwald laughed and shrugged while still in chains. “Oops. That must have slipped my mind. Would have been an excellent trap.”

The guards were coming. Harry stared at Gellert Grindelwald with rage in her eyes. “This is far from over. I will crush you.”

He smiled at her tauntingly, eyes gleaming. “You will most certainly  _ try _ . Pet.”

She vanished just as the cell door slammed open. She appeared back at Crouch’s manor only to find Barty had killed himself. Her scream of rage ignited her magic, and the house burned to the ground around her.  By the time she returned to Hogwarts, the search had been called off, but questions were still being asked.

Fudge wanted to know who injured the other champions, where Greene was, where Karkaroff was, who the fake Moody was, and where she and Riddle had gone.  The judges that were left, the Minister, and the teachers were all waiting. Harry was sitting on Tom’s bed, watching him sleep peacefully. She smelled like smoke and sulfur.

“Greene attacked Krum and admitted to attacking Fleur. He bewitched my partner to attack me. In order to keep the casualties down, I used our apparating skills to get us to another more deserted location. We fought until I was able to break that spell. Tom passed out, and I took him here.”

“But that doesn’t explain where you went afterwards, Miss Potter!”

Harry’s haunting green eyes cut upward and gazed hard into the Minister’s soul. **“You’re mistaken, Minister. I have been here the whole time. There is no time discrepancy. Greene is the culprit for everything.”** The man blinked several times and then hummed.

“Yes. Quite. Well, it seems that you have won the tournament. The prize money will be delivered to you tomorrow. Congratulations, Miss Potter.” He nodded and quickly left.

Harry turned to the confused bystanders who didn’t know anything. She wiped them ruthlessly and then turned to those who did know the truth. “Headmaster, I need to speak to you privately.”  Albus nodded and escorted her to his office. Severus, Sirius, Hermione, Ron, Blaise, and Aberforth followed.  The story came out in a monotone. She stared at the fire.

Aberforth stood up, “Summon Barty’s soul-”

“And show the Minister that Harriet can do Death Magic? Brilliant.” Sirius scoffed and crouched beside his goddaughter. “Pettigrew is missing, and we can search for him sure, but the chances of us finding him-”

“Are slim.” Albus shook his head. “Grindelwald hoodwinked us very nicely. Everything is so obvious now that we know the answer. The polyjuice was for Barty Junior and Pettigrew. Winky was delivering it to both of them so they wouldn’t alert Severus and steal from his stores. Grindelwald gave Pettigrew security answers for our questions, questions he knew I would ask him. While Pettigrew was in prison, Grindelwald was out gathering his armies yet again. We have lost the battle to him.” He sank his head into his hands tiredly.

“Just tell the Minister that-”

“That what?” Severus glowered at Blaise. “That the man who is  _ now _ in prison was running wild previously? He’ll ask for proof. What proof do we have? Nothing. We can tell nothing without tipping our own hands and showing our secrets.”

Hermione frowned. “But what about Legilimency?”

“Too risky.” Albus rubbed his face. “Our secrets that we need to keep are too tightly entangled with the truths we want to share. Of course, we could manipulate their souls, but we would need to do that to the entire Wizengamot and that would cause no end of trouble for us in keeping stories straight and stopping loose ends. No, I’m afraid we cannot do anything. We can try to spread the world that the security is breached, but Fudge will not listen.” Albus laughed bitterly. “That I can assure you. He is rather good at not listening.”

Aberforth punched his brother’s desk in anger.

Looking at Harry, Blaise spoke up. “I should stay on Tom’s side now?”

“Yes. I preached against the misuse of Thought Manipulation, and you have found out I practice it. That breaks your trust, and you side with Tom. That way I can at least make sure he won’t do anything stupid.” Blaise nodded slowly and then shoved his hands into his pockets.

“And what will I do if he tells me to play spy against you?”

Harry laughed humorlessly. “Then ask Severus for tips.” Blaise turned and goggled at the man. The older man nodded grudgingly. 

“I’ll help him.”

“Thank you.” Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. “Fudge will hate me. He’ll make trouble for me. Albus and I can’t help but tell him that the cell is faulty. Grindelwald can escape it. He won’t believe us. He’ll do a smear campaign.”

Albus laughed softly, sadly. “Quite an impressive one, if I remember correctly of what he’s done in the past. He owns the papers. Once he finds out that the  _ Daily Prophet _ is no longer on his side, then he’ll pump up another paper and start levying fines against the Prophet, anything to shut you up, Karina.”

The woman- who had just arrived and had been filled in by Blaise- grinned dangerously. “I’ll be ready for him. I’ll comb through that place and make sure there’s nothing to fine. He’ll have to create new laws and that will buy me time.” Sirius kissed her gently and lovingly. She smiled up at him.

Harry stared into the fire. Tom was her enemy. At the most. 

At the very least, he was now a stranger to her and a loose canon. She rubbed her eyes and tried not to cry. Ron and Hermione pulled her into a deep hug.


End file.
